Sound In Motion

Jimi Hendrix: Valleys Of Neptune

2010-02-19T16:57:00.003-05:00

It has been far too long since my last post, but I actually have a good excuse this time. In January The String Theory was asked to pitch boards for a music video for a soon to be released long lost album from Jimi Hendrix. String Theory got the gig, and for all of January (and into Feb!) we were animating like crazy.

Big Thanks to Charles Kline, Kamaur Bonfield, and Erik Winkowski, for working like madmen and making it shine. Big Thanks to all my friends at Sony Music and Legacy who took a chance and gave me a shot at a pretty big achievement. I hope you enjoy!

How I Feel At Work

2009-09-18T13:38:00.002-04:00

Long Walk

2009-09-05T20:56:00.005-04:00

Today we woke up much earlier than usual (for a Saturday) and the weather was so beautiful, we decided to head out with Chalupa and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We took a taxi down to Chambers Street, got a red Gatorade from the street vendor, and started walking. I haven't walked it since College, and last time I did it, I remember it being noisy and crowded and hot as Hell. Alicia had never done it, so we were all happy to be there.

Sure enough, it was crowded (difficult to walk Chalupa with her leash) and NOISY. The Bridge rattled and rumbled with traffic roaring by, and Chalupa didn't really seem to enjoy it very much. By 3/4 through, she was asking to be picked up and carried the rest of the way. It was very very sunny and hot, so, while I was fine, I think she was maybe just a bit overwhelmed.

Once we reached the far side (Brooklyn, of course) we sat in the grass under a shady tree for quite a while, just resting and enjoying the beautiful day.

Alicia had looked up some "famous" pizza place, so we walked there, only to find lines around the block! Forget it. We walked around in DUMBO, and enjoyed a little trek to Water Street, where we had a terrific lunch at The Water Street Restaurant and Lounge. I got the Fried Chicken sandwich (with delicious BBQ Mayonnaise? more like Honey, actually) while Alicia got Jerk Chicken Soft Tacos (with delicious Mango sauce) and a Polenta with Portabello Mushrooms. Chalupa sat on the bench at table level and enjoyed the sights and sounds, and hopped down to greet the gentlemen at the table next to us, while they proceeded to feed her French Fries for all of her tricks and dances she performed.

After Lunch, we got amazing home-made ice cream, and walked back towards the water, where we took the Water Taxi across the river to South Street Seaport (Chalupa hiding in our bag, since dogs were not allowed on the boat) and then a cab to the String Theory office, so we could cool down, rest, and I had to pick up a computer that was being repaired around the corner.

We are home, and relaxing watching TV, and I am sun burnt on my face.

A very good Day.

One Down, One To Go

2009-09-02T12:08:00.004-04:00

Sharon's surgury for her Detatched Retina went fine yesterday (although a bit more like "Grindhouse" or "Hostel" than she would have liked) and the Doctor was throughly optimistic and pleased with the outcome. Now she has to heal, and go back for followups, to assess how effective it was and if she would need any further procedures.

Apparently, for this type of eye surgery, the patient has to be AWAKE (I guess for the doctor to effectively see the eye and it's functions) so while she was NUMB, she was perfectly lucid and completely aware of what was going on IN HER EYE (for about 3 hours, no less!).

They would have had to hit ME over the head with a hammer, but SHE suffered it just fine.

She has a week and 2 days to heal, because next Thursday my Father has to go back in for his second round of surgery. I hope they got a good discount from buying their surgeries in bulk!

Step-Brothers

2009-08-31T12:17:00.003-04:00

With Alicia away in North Carolina visiting Vivian and Jack, I spent the weekend fixing a computer at work (bad logic board!?!?), taking Chalupa to the vet (some topical medicine for her terrible and worsening rash, now all over her hears and little head), cleaning and doing laundry, and watching dumb movies. I rented a few horror movies (one being the absolutely fantastic "Motel Hell") and the crazy Will Ferrell movie "Step Brothers."

I have to admit, I expected nothing at all from this movie, and really only rented it because I got a free movie from our movie store (3 for 2 on Saturdays). I have not really liked many of Will Ferrel's latest movies (although fun premises, I just thought they were bloated and lazy) and don't even get me started on my detest for John C. Reily (of course Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Hard Eight are terrific, he as a character actor is pretty abominable... Dewy Cox, anyone?)

Imagine my surprise when I found myself, alone in the apartment, laughing out loud for about 2 hours straight. I had to rewind 2 or 3 times just to see/hear what I had missed while I was laughing so hard. I was blown away not by how silly or goofy it is (and BOY, it is) but really by how DARK and DISTURBING it is. It is very unsettling to see these 2 man-childs vie for dominance and attention from their exasperated parents. Imagine the Brady Bunch with 2 children rather than 6, and both of them are played by Baby Huey.

I loved it. I can't wait to watch it again. Maybe it was just my mood, but I sure needed a hearty laugh.

We All Could Learn From This

2009-08-28T19:25:00.001-04:00

The Wheels Are Falling Off

2009-08-28T17:16:00.004-04:00

I just got off the phone with my Father (remarkable in itself, since he just had surgery removing a portion of his tongue last week) and he actually sounded really good. Upbeat and positive, he was even thinking of going back to some of his work next week (at least a few hours, anyway).

He told me though, that not all news is good. Two Thursdays from now, it seems, he will have to return to Hopkins for additional surgery (ironically, they are going to perform something that the surgeon decided not to do while she was in session last week... ) She said she was very very sorry, while my Father replied "Not as sorry as I am!" I swear to god, I understand not wanting to over-operate if unneccesary, but jeez... he was JUST in there, and the plan WAS to do this procedure. to stitch him up without doing it, only to have to come back a week later is absurd (and cruel and unusual).

That's not the end of the drama in the Vondracek household though.

My dad told me while we spoke, that he was calling me from GBMC Medical Center. (uh oh)

He proceeds to tell me that they are there for Sharon, who was diagnosed with a detached retina, requiring emergency medical attention, and emergency surgery scheduled for this coming Tuesday.

Unbelievable.

He also tells me his car is in the shop (this is what bothers my dad most about all this, BTW!) AND, on top of it all, they are having plumbing/sewage issues in their brand new house (about 1 year old!!!!)

I am pretty sure if he was not drugged out of his mind, he would have committed Hari Kari by now.

Please keep them in your prayers, and send some positive JuJu their way!

Study: 74% Of Children Tenting Out In Yard Don't Make It Through The Night

2009-08-26T13:21:00.004-04:00

WASHINGTON—According to a new report released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services, 74 percent of all American children camping out in their backyards never, ever make it through the night.

The study, which surveyed hundreds of innocent children between the ages of 7 and 12, found that, in almost all cases, sleeping outdoors in a tent with a flashlight and comic books and who knows what else lurking around in the dark ended in horrible tragedy.

"We now have definitive proof that most children who camp out in their yards will die a horrific death," said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services. "Whether it's a sudden wolf attack, an escaped mental patient, or just Old Man Greenly, who lost his hand in a gruesome mill accident and now seeks his bloody revenge, young boys and girls rarely live to see their parents or friends again."

Secretary Sebelius concluded the press conference by telling children to sleep tight, throwing her head back and cackling wildly.

Conducted over the course of two months, the study documented nearly 18,345 ways in which children, who never suspected a thing until it was far too late, met their grisly demise.

In 29 percent of all recorded cases, young campers were chopped up into tiny pieces by fugitive axe murderers. While a shocking 32 percent of kids, snacking on potato chips and candy bars, awakened the ghost of a little baby boy named Jeremy.

According to the study, 100 percent of all children tried to scream and yell for help, but nothing came out.

"Though a terrifying scenario, kids should not worry too much about the prospect of being attacked by killer ghosts," said Dr. Howard Fredericks, the study's chief researcher and a professor of forensic biology at Columbia University. "Especially since our data suggests they're three times more likely to be kidnapped by the Very Lonely Woman Who Lives in the Woods."

"She's this horrible-looking woman with scabs all over her face who had her children taken away by the state," Fredericks continued. "She now roams across the suburbs at night, crying and wailing, and mistaking young kids playing inside their tents for her own."

Although Fredericks claimed that the odds of an unsuspecting child surviving until morning were slim, he did issue a list of warning signs to watch for. The sound of a nearby twig snapping, Fredericks said, almost always indicates that a half-man, half-lizard swamp creature, who feeds on the organs of schoolchildren while they're still alive, is on the prowl. In addition, the study found that turning off one's flashlight or closing one's eyes for "even a second" is an open invitation to all disfigured hitchhikers in the area to suddenly attack.

"Children should know, however, that if they hear scratching on the side of their tent, it's probably just their older brother trying to scare them," Fredericks said. "And if the scratching suddenly stops, it's most likely because their parents have gone insane and crept up from behind with this really demonic look in their eyes and slit his throat."

As dire as these findings may appear, Fredericks claimed there was one way for children camping outdoors to escape their fate.

"If they are able to avoid being bitten by poisonous spiders crawling around inside their sleeping bag, can keep all their fingers and toes crossed long enough to ward off Sister Mary, and manage to run back home without the inbred family of cannibal people seeing them first, they may actually stand a chance," said Fredericks, an eerie smile forming on his lips. "But even if they do, there's no telling what they'll find once they get inside."

Couresty of America's Finest News Source

Work Is Picking Up

2009-08-25T17:37:00.006-04:00

String Theory has been busy the past 2 weeks, with 4 people cranking. In house now:

a. An Awesome animation series for AC/DC (will post as soon as it delivers)
b. A corporate video parodying the graphic styling of Top Chef.
c. A type-driven Pitch for Mello Yello
d. 2 x different episodes of A&E's "The First 48"
e. A PBS American Experience doc "Wyatt Earp"
f. An animation package for Legacy (A Sony Music Label)
g. A Type Animation for the Broadway musical: Jersey Boys
h. Logo animation for TimeWarner Cable

Not a whole lot to comment on, other than it's good to be busy. Fall is kicking in, and as I polish up the class syllabus for Cooper U, I just got to thinking that before we know it, it will be the Holidays again. Hoo Boy. Let's not rush too much.

Fortune

2009-08-23T23:01:00.001-04:00

Fortune Cookie tonight (while watching tv):

"Idleness is the Holiday Of Fools"

Cancer

2009-08-23T20:07:00.002-04:00

2 Weeks ago, on a pleasant (and long overdue) trip to Baltimore, we were in the way to my Mom's house for some R+R at the poolside, looking forward to a small meetup with her and Amanda, as well as Alicia's Mom, Tino and Linda, and even our old friend Lori.

On the way there, Sharon called and broke the bad news: that my Father was diagnosed with stage 1 oral cancer. His previous oral cancer scare from a few years back (where he immediately quit drinking AND smoking "cold turkey" **) was apparently not the end of the story. This was caught early, in a relatively premature stage, so with the proper series of tests and a meeting with a surgeon, should be dealt with in the easiest way possible.

That following Monday, he was hammered with tests, xrays, CT scans, and every other poke, prod and measurement they possibly could. By end of week, the results were in, and while they were still cautiously optimistic about treatment, it was upgraded to stage 2, and they began making difficult and gruesome decisions regarding surgery and treatment.

The following week (this past monday) he met with the specialist, who set up immediate surgery, taking him in on Thursday. They needed to remove part of his tongue (a terribly painful and long-healing process) which knocks out his ability to speak, eat, etc, as you can probably imagine.

On Thursday, he entered surgery, for a long tense day, where, during the course of the operation, we learned that a few things were looking better in person than they had in the xray, and not only did the surgeon downgrade his condition to stage 1, but also decided, while on the operating table, that 1 of the 3 particularly difficult aspects of the surgery did NOT need to be done after all. Good news? We'll take it.

He spent the night, leaving the hospital on Friday late afternoon, and has been resting and healing all weekend, mostly under heavy sedation and painkillers.

It looks like it will be a long and painful road to heal, but the doctors are optimistic that radiation is off the table (at least for the time being). Things can ALWAYS be worse, after all. We are wishing him well, and any and all good thoughts, prayers, letters, etc are appreciated!

I will post updates as I get them from Sharon!

** A Feat I NEVER thought he could or WOULD do. It's probably the most amazing and impressive thing I've known him to do. It also is a cold reminder that even if you QUIT after a lifetime of smoking, sometimes the damage is already done. Consider this if you are even THINKING of trying a cigarette in the near future.

Back To The Beach

2009-08-23T19:59:00.002-04:00

We went to the Jersey Shore (Barnegat, NJ) this weekend to visit with the Cruz' sisters old neighbors. It was a lot of fun, and completely exhausting. Family, friends, dogs, a six week old kitten, 2 children with cartoons and video games, a beach, a bay, burger shack, dessert cafe, swimming pool, grill, sweltering heat, scorching sunburn, and beer pong.

whew!

Thanks to Jenn, Wes, Matthew and Meghan for hosting us (not to mention Sammy and Gracie!!! woof!) We had a great time, with great food to boot! Hope to see you soon, perhaps in Manhattan sometime? Dim Sum, anyone?

It Might Be Awesome

2009-08-16T17:13:00.005-04:00

Alicia and I just got back from the fantastic new doc "It Might Get Loud", directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) and featuring the guitar musings and brilliant flares of inspiration and imrov from Jack White (White Stripes, Racontours, etc), the Edge (a little band called U2, anyone?) and a small unknown studio musician from the other side of the pond, by the name of James Page. (Jimmy, if you follow that whole Led Zepplin-thing!)

intercutting documentary interview, ponderous musings while alone, interaction of the 3 generations in the same space, and archival and vintage performace footage, this "doc" really functioned more as a portrait, or series of character studies, not unlike The Wrestler...

but make no mistake... there is not an OUNCE of pretention or self importance to be found in this picture. It is charming, fast, witty, entertaining and genuinely warm and creatively inspiring. What struck me the most was how nervous EACH of the three are to meet each other in the scenes leading up to their first introduction. All three are so different, from their upbringing, country of origin, economic class, and agegroup, that it is clear to me that all three genuinely had an awe for the other, and once their intimidations came down, they genuinely seemed to bod and jam and open up in such a way that a traditional "interviewer" asking rote questions would never have been able to get them to do.

Warm. Candid. Genuinely smart and creative and entertaining, it is not to be missed by anyone even casually interested in rock and roll, and certainly not by anyone who has anything more than a passing interest in these 3 great (and very different talents. Do not wait for video. Support Independent film, and support rock and roll. See this on the big screen, in the dark, with a great surround sound system.

Who's That Ugly Mug In I.D. Magazine?

2009-08-16T17:02:00.005-04:00

Here is a link to a crude PDF scan I made of the article, for those of you who can't blow $35 on a newstand issue!

Download Full 5-Page PDF Here

As you can imagine, it was a HUGE honor for me to be partnered with an MIT Doctorate, not to mention the other jurors (NASA designers, Art Director of the New York Times Magazine, etc). I am proud of our selection(s) and hope you all enjoy it as much as we did discussing it.

There Must Be An Open Door... For You... To Come Back

2009-08-16T16:30:00.005-04:00

I am so sorry I have not been updating this blog the past few months. Your complaints have NOT fallen on deaf ears! (geoff, JoeRo, Amy, Alicia, etc!) I have been busy. Blah Blah Blah. Everyone's busy... so what?

Well, let's catch up, in Chronological order.

March (while I was still blogging actively) was a mess. I was forced to part with my business partner at The String Theory (those of you who know me well know all the gory details... casual readers, you will just have to use your imaginations, since I don't want to use this blog as a vehicle for bad talk). I was left with a business in flames, an assload of work and projects still left to do, and an unbearable and crippling back pain/muscle spasm because of the stress.

The Lawsuit continued unabated, and all I could do to get through it was to focus on work and getting new projects.

So I Did. After the slowest 2 month stretch of my entire career (Jan and Feb. Yeah, remember the whole economic collapse of the country?) I got busier than I had been in Years. Big projects. Fun Projects. Small Projects. Crappy Projects. I took them all. Did them all. Delivered them all. I did not rest until the machine was pulsing at full capacity again.

I wasn't exactly my usual chipper self. I had not been listening to anything new, nothing noteworthy. Just hunkered down, working through the misery. Without fun new music (or even the joy of listening to OLD music) I simply didn't have any interest to post a new entry. Facebook blips were ablout all I could muster.

But then the weather got warmer. The work started going Great. The clooud and Shadow that my old partner had cast seemed to be lifted from the office, and my life.

We went to Antigua (pronounced An-TEE-ga) for some MUCH needed R&R, as well as Peat's Wedding (which was beautiful).

The verdict for my lawsuit's "Summary Judgement" hearing came back in my favour (more on that later)... Although it is still going on, the Summary Judgement Ruling was a critical slap in the face to Capital One/NFB, and added some much needed wind to my sails.

The Annual Design Review Issue of I.D. Magazine released this month, and yours truly is featured in photograph and by way of 5 page article. Check it out, but with a $35 newstand price, I would not be offended at all if you read the scan I made of it, that I will post tomorrow when I get to the office (stay tuned)

Things are much improved. Work is stable. We have visited friends and family over the past few weeks, and all of a sudden, I feel like listening to music again. This of course, makes me want to share it again. Hence the new post.

sorry for the long winded tirade.

I just thought I owed you an explanation, and an apology.

Stay tuned to this program.

Download: Pearl Jam: Come Back (Live 2008, Washington DC)

P.S... on top of it all, my old website got hacked, and I am still in the process of sorting in all out. That is why there are no PICTURES or LINKS to ASSETS on my older posts...

As I sort it out, I will migrate all of it to the new server, and fix the links accordinly. Sorry for the hassle

Chris Cornell: BBC Sessions

2009-04-14T10:08:00.005-04:00

Here is a great recording of Chris Cornell solo acoustic at the BBC. Sound Quality is fantastic, some great songs and a few great covers.

01. The Original Fire
02. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
03. Black Hole Sun
04. Can'T Change Me
05. Like A Stone
06. Redemption Song

Download: Chris Cornell: BBC Sessions (zipped)

If You Watched It Backwards:

2009-04-09T19:05:00.002-04:00

• If you watched LOST backwards you realize it's the same thing as if you would watch it forwards.

• If you watch HEROES backwards you realize that it's been getting progressively better over time.

• If you watch FRIENDS backwards, Courtney Cox seems to get older somehow. I Think It's the hair.

• If you watch RAMBO backwards, It's Sylvester Stallone healing people with his magical bullet vacuum.
(and repairing helicopters with nothing but a Bow and Arrow)

• If you watch FIGHT CLUB backwards, you see Ed Norton turn from a crazy streetperson into a successful, productive member of society.

• If you watch the 1997 version of EPISODE IV backwards, Greedo Shoots first.

• If you watch MEMENTO backwards, it makes complete sense.

• If you watch THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY backwards, it's a saga about a little guy who gets a cool ring from a volcano and spends the rest of the film walking home.

Who Says Advertising Is Evil? Part 2

2009-04-07T19:13:00.002-04:00

Unbelievable.

Huge thanks to Kamaur for helping me find this!

Who Says Advertising Is Evil?

2009-04-05T11:50:00.001-04:00

Big Thanks to Karin Hayes for sending me this!!

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

2009-03-23T12:48:00.004-04:00

Last week a band was recommended by Bob L. in Baltimore, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. They played SXSW this year, to much critical acclaim. In fact, Alicia and I saw a really good short featurette on them on the Sundance Channel a month or so ago. They had been on my radar, but never sat down and looked them up fully. After their review in the New York Times, Bob looked them up, and sent them my way.

Bob wrote: "It was well worth the effort. They have a great retro sound that will at times remind you of the Smith's, early poppy REM and even a little of the Cure and one of my favorites the Ocean Blue. In short they have nailed the alterna pop sound of the very late 80's and early 90's." and I agree completely (even with a bit of Jesus and Mary Chain in there for good measure. But Ocean Blue, no doubt.

I posted a few of their album tracks for you to sample and hopefully enjoy. I can't guarantee they won't get taken down (I try not to post too many album tracks on this site, for fear of riling the RIAA) but they are hopefully meant to inspire you to get their album, which, to my joy, was on eMusic, the best music subscription service money can buy!!

Enjoy the music:

Download: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Come Saturday

Download: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Adult Friction

Download: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Gentle Sons

Nirvana: Seattle, 1990 The Off Ramp Cafe

2009-03-22T18:34:00.003-04:00

I have countless Nirvana bootlegs from over the years, but I came across this one last night and thought I should share! It is by far my favorite setlist of the bootlegs I have, and it is a very early show, the very first one in Seattle with Dave Grohl on drums. It is dynamic, energetic, upbeat and thrilling. Lots of covers and rarities, that later made it onto Incesticide, along with Here She Comes Now, one of my favorite rarities of theirs, from Velvet Underground.

Again, the bootleg was presented as a 2 CD file, which I have kept in tact for the sake of trading purposes, but have combined the 2 files into 1 zip file for your downloading ease.

It should be noted that this recording is a frankenstein of sources, all notated in the documentation in the zip file. Where possible, the soundboard recording is used, but for "holes" in this source audience recording is there instead. It really doesn't matter though. the Audience recording is still very very good quality, and very much worth a listen for all rock fans, not just the Nirvana die-hards. The first Seattle show with Dave Grohl is another cool reason this belongs in your collection. Also, makes a great gift for friends who think they have everything, Nirvana-related.

Nirvana - Live 1990, Seattle's Off ramp Cafe

Audio is Soundboard and Audience tapes. Detailed trading and source notes are included as a text file within the zip, along with album/CD cover art.

CD1: (50:28)
01 (Intro)
02 Aneurysm
03 Oh, The Guilt
04 Mr. Moustache
05 Stay Away
06 Breed
07 Floyd The Barber
08 About A Girl
09 Verse Chorus Verse
10 In Bloom
11 Swap Meet
12 Been A Son
13 Stain
14 Blew
15 Sappy

CD2: (51:07)
01 Lithium
02 School
03 D-7
04 Here She Comes Now
05 Sliver
06 Dive [aborted]
07 (Encore Break)
08 Dumb
09 Polly
10 Something In The Way
11 Negative Creep
12 Love Buzz
13 Where Did You Sleep Last Night [tease]
14 Spank Thru
15 Molly's Lips
16 Son Of A Gun
17 Sifting [cut]

Download: Nirvana: 1990 Seattle, The Off ramp Cafe (zipped)

Aerosmith: Permanent Vacation Outtakes

2009-03-22T18:25:00.002-04:00

In Keeping with my good run of completely rare studio Recording session outtakes (Radiohead, NIN, Guns and Roses, Nirvana, etc) I figured I'd post this for you all... Aerosmith's sessions for Permanent Vacation. Lots of rare stuff, rough stuff, alternate versions (gotta loooove Hangman Jury!) It's broken down into 2 x CDs (the way I found it) but I zipped both CDs together into a single zip file for your downloading ease and pleasure. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation Session Outtakes

Outtakes and alternate mixes from "Permanent Vacation" sessions.
CD issued in the late 1990s, not able to pin down exactly when.

CD1:
01 - Magic Touch
02 - Angel
03 - I'm Down
04 - Dude(mix 1)
05 - St John(mix 1)
06 - St. John(mix 2)
07 - Girl Keeps Coming Apart
08 - Permanent Vacation(mix 3)
09 - Dude
10 - Magic Touch
11 - Got To Find A Way
12 - Samurai
13 - Walking on Danger Street

CD2:
01 - Rag Doll
02 - Feel The Pain
03 - Looking Like A Lady
04 - Gotta Find A Way
05 - Samurai
06 - Permanent Vacation(mix 4)
07 - Hangman Jury
08 - Hollywood
09 - Funky Thing
10 - Walking on Danger Street(mix 2)
11 - Sleeping Sickness
12 - St. John)mix 3)
13 - Girl Keeps Coming Apart (instrumental)
14 - Once Is Never Enough
15 - Heart's Done Time

Download: Aerosmith: Permanent Vacation Session Outtakes (zipped)

How Can We Sleep While Beds Are Burning?

2009-03-22T17:16:00.004-04:00

I found a good one last night, and thought I would share! Midnight Oil playing Wembley Stadium, in their 1990 prime! It was Broadcast on the radio (Westwood One), so the sound quality is great. Not to mention the fantaaaastic setlist, heavy on the "Blue Sky Mining" album. I hope you enjoy!

Midnight Oil - Live From Wembley, 1990

01 - King Of The Montain (3:30)
02 - Dream World (4:13)
03 - River Runs Red (5:13)
04 - Warakurna (4:35)
05 - Read About It (2:33)
06 - Read About It Cont. (1:07)
07 - The Dead Heart (5:51)
08 - Best Of Both World (3:49)
09 - Kosciusko (4:22)
10 - Power And The Passion (5:34)
11 - Beds Are Burning (4:09)
12 - Bedlam Bridge (9:04)
13 - What's So Funny About Peace (6:27)
14 - Hercules (4:26)
15 - Now Your Product (2:00)
16 - Blue Sky Mine (4:14)

Download: Midnight Oil: 1990 Live from Wembley (zipped)

Pearl Jam "Ten" Reissue

2009-03-19T15:32:00.003-04:00

This has some of the grfx and 3D animation we did for the upcoming rerelease (and remastering!?!?) of Pearl jam's Seminal album "Ten"

While I may like a few of their other albums a tad more (mostly due to the mix... the new mix by Brendan O'Brian is SPOT ON!) I can honestly say there is no more important an album for me, really. I mean, c'mon... that tracklist is unbelievable, still today.

I can't wait to hear all the new mixes on those songs (plus the official release of the MTV unplugged show!)

enjoy.

Well, There Goes Another Popular Expression Down The Drain...

2009-03-17T17:53:00.002-04:00

Watching the Watchmen

2009-03-15T16:48:00.006-04:00

Alicia and I saw the much hyped and much maligned 3 hour Watchmen movie yesterday, based, of course, on the genius work of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I am not a lifelong fanboy, having only read the graphic novel this past summer. Although late to the party, I loved the graphic novel for all the reasons everyone told me I would... a fantastically complex and morally ambiguous set of characters, worderfully fun ways to develop the story besides just cartoon panels... Intellegent winks to the format itself with a concurrent Pirate story running throughout... preposterous ending, etc etc etc. I was really interested to see the film even TRY to tell this story, which everyone claimed was "unfilmable" for the past 20 years. And perhaps it still is.

And let's be clear: every critical review you read about it is very very true. It is loooong. It is painfully faithful to the source material, at the expense of creating any new feelings of wonder that a movie might have the power to do. It is icy cold and completely unfeeling, unflinching, and does not engage the audience in any way emotionally. Anyone not extremely familiar with the book will just not follow it, and will most likely leave thinking what's all the fuss?

But if you DO savour the book, and it's characters and art style, and chaotic, dark, antisocial, nihilistic, anarchistic and critical themes, then there is absolutely, positively no excuse you could give me that you should not see it. It is NOT perfect. It is NOT for everyone. BUt is IS still very very good. And very interesting. And hard as hell to have come so far. It really brings the comic world to life in a fantastic way, that taken with the right grain of salt, can be a true joy from start to finish. Alicia and I saw it at the Imax, and I highly reccomend this. Performances have been criticized as being cold, distant, amatuerish... I disagree. I thought it was finely and interestingly cast, and some nice surprises (Carla Gugino Jeffrey Dean Morgan, etc) came through in that respect. (although Ozymandias/Veit was possibly the weakest link in the chain...)

The opening title sequence alone (a 6 minute sequence set to Bob Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin") was unbelievably creative and effective, and for the right audience member, probably worth the entire price of admission right there. Speaking of Dylan, the rest of the unbelievably good soundtrack was used in extremely prominent (arguably overblown) manner, and I loved it. Most of the times, I hate songs coming so far to the front that it's just a musical interlude sequence... but this film was so big, and colorful, and cold as ice that it really seemed appropriate not only content-wise, but stylistically as well.

Zach Snyder is certainly not a "visionary" (A remake of Dawn of the Dead and another comic adaptation does NOT a visionary make) but he is to be commended for making a 3 hour superhero movie that held true to the source material, and created such a stylistic and clinical mood and feel that I was hypnotized.

The cold, calculating clinical view of Dr. Manhattan dominates the feeling of this movie in every frame. I think that's what the critics thought was wrong with it. I think that's what I thought was RIGHT with it. Eh, to each his own. But I strongly suggest YOU not believe everything that you read, and see it, and judge for yourself.

Who Watches the Watchmen? I sure did. You might want to as well.

P.S... the new ending? WAAAAAAAY better that the comic. No Joke. Seriously. If anyone wants to argue this point, I am open to hearing why you disagree... But I cannot imagine a reason why. A giant Squid? Really? The movie's tweak makes a MUCH smarter connection to the characters and their behaviours. It left me about a million times more content than the end of the comic did. So there. That's another good reason to give the movie a shot, and judge it solely on it's OWN merits, not the hype machine NOR the critical backlash.

Muppets take Manhattan (or 52nd street at least)

2009-03-12T18:22:00.003-04:00

Patricia's friend from Baltimore stays with us a fair amount of time, since she is a performance artist who occasionally books gigs in New York or the surrounding 'burbs. She come in late, get's up early, and is out the door before Alicia and I ever even know she's gone. She's fun and interesting, and we usually just grab some dinner, and give her some setup for a restroom and some good nights sleep.

Last time she came, though, she had a huuuuuuge blanket and pillow and such, dragging around. We chuckled that she didn't have to do that, we had her covered, but she stays in so many places so often that she travels more comfortably by having these things on hand (no matter how cumbersome it is for her to lug.)

We haven't seen her in a while (other than Thanksgiving at Patricia and Geoff's house) because she was pregnant, and presumably wasn't traveling for work as much. She recently had her baby, happy and healthy.

Alicia told me the other day, that she wanted to come back again, she had another gig booked. Of course I said "fine" just as always, since it's never a problem at all.

There was a catch this time... She wanted to know if it was okay to bring her husband, toddler, and newborn.

Now she knows our place is always open, but she also knows how small that place is too... of course we won't say "no" but man... tonight is going to be something else!

Wish us luck... I jokingly told Alicia that unfortunately I had to pull an all-nighter at work tonight (I don't, really) It'll be fine. I just don't expect to have much rest (on this worknight) with 4 adults, 1 toddler, 1 newborn, and a nasty little dog (who treats children terribly, btw!) Oh well.. tomorrow is Friday, and I got most of my work done today... so maybe it'll be a breezy day.

Sleep Tight.

National Treasure III?

2009-03-10T22:05:00.003-04:00

Museum Reveals Engraving Hidden in Lincoln Watch
By: BRETT ZONGKER (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 10, 2009 9:16 PM EDT

WASHINGTON - For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch. On Tuesday, museum curators confirmed it was true. A watchmaker used tiny tools to carefully pry open the antique watch at the National Museum of American History, and a descendant of the engraver read aloud the message from a metal plate underneath the watch face.

"Jonathan Dillon April 13 - 1861," part of the inscription reads, "Fort Sumpter (sic) was attacked by the rebels on the above date." Another part reads, "Thank God we have a government."

The words were etched in tiny cursive handwriting and filled the the space between tiny screws and gears that jutted through the metal plate. A magnifying glass was required to read them.

Jonathan Dillon, then a watchmaker on Pennsylvania Avenue, had Lincoln's watch in his hands when he heard the first shots of the Civil War had been fired in South Carolina. The Irish immigrant later recalled being the only Union sympathizer working at the shop in a divided Washington.

Dillon's story was passed down among his family and friends, eventually reaching a New York Times reporter. In a 1906 article in the paper, an 84-year-old Dillon said no one, including Lincoln, ever saw the inscription as far as he knew.

Dillon had a fuzzy recollection of what he had engraved. He told the newspaper he had written: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a president who at least will try."

For years the story went unconfirmed.

The watchmaker's great-great grandson, Doug Stiles, first heard the tale of the engraving from his great uncle decades ago. He said the story had reached extended family as far away as Ireland.

A few months ago, he used Google to find the New York Times story, and last month he passed the information along to Smithsonian curators, who knew nothing about the engraving.

On Tuesday, watchmaker George Thomas, who volunteers at the museum, spent several minutes carefully opening the watch as an audience of reporters and museum workers watched on a video monitor.

"The moment of truth has come. Is there or is there not an inscription?" Thomas said, teasing the audience, which gasped when he confirmed it was there. He called Stiles up to read his ancestor's words, drawing smiles and a few sighs of relief.

"Like Pearl Harbor or 9/11, this was the reaction he had (to the Civil War,)" Stiles said of the inscription.

Later, Stiles said he felt closer to the 16th president.

"My gosh, that was Lincoln's watch," he said, "and my ancestor put graffiti on it!"

Lincoln's family kept the watch until it was donated to the museum in 1958. It was Lincoln's everyday pocket watch, one of the president's only valuable possessions he brought with him to the White House from Springfield, Ill., said Harry Rubenstein, curator of the museum's politics and reform division.

"I think it just captures a bit of history that can transform you to another time and place," he said. "It captures the excitement, the hope of a watchmaker in Washington."

The watch will go back on display at the museum by Wednesday as part of the exhibit, "Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life." It will have a new label to tell Dillon's story and a photo of the inscription.

---

On the Net:

National Museum of American History: http://americanhistory.si.edu/

Bands That Are Not Cool With My Blog

2009-03-09T18:04:00.005-04:00

Sorry Everyone

The latest post I had up for the past couple of days was a great broadcast of Kings Of Leon (broadcast in Germany)... It got removed unceremoniously by the RIAA.

This is the second time a band or the RIAA has pulled the plug on a post of mine. (the first was Snow Patrol) It's weird, because these have been RAVE posts, about my favorite new(ish) bands and I have provided links to their official sites, links to purchase the albums from amazon, And the music itself that I have posted, while of course I do not own the copyrights to, have been live performances, traded popularly online, and, in the case of Kings Of Leon, were BROACAST LIVE FOR FREE ON THE RADIO IN GERMANY. It's not like I'm posting a rip of the leaked U2 album or anything... I am trying my best to turn people on to a great band that IIIII thought could use the good word of mouth.

Oh well. It's a big machine, and that machine is broken and on fire. In honor of the RIAA, I am now adding a sidebar list of bands that yank their posts from my site.

Thanks again, RIAA. Good luck with all that.

Around The Galaxy In 80 Days

2009-03-06T12:09:00.000-05:00

A Little Humor

2009-03-03T22:14:00.001-05:00

Something funny. Bizkit The Sleepwalking Dog.

Getting Closer...

2009-03-03T18:16:00.003-05:00

The lawsuit is raining down like hellfire now. Capital One's request for "Summary Judgement" is being presented within the next 2 weeks, along with our Answer. I really can't say for sure which way this cookie is going to crumble. The past few days I have been getting good feelings and good vibes from my attorney, and they even apologized for their first (insulting) response to our settlement offer, but their revised couter to our offer was still $50,000. I guess they thought they were being nice by offering to "split the difference" of the made up money I never really borrowed. I think 50K is still ridiculously too high, so I am rolling the dice. Perhaps we'll come to terms on some lower number, or perhaps it will proceed as scheduled, and it could go one of two ways:

If they are AWARDED summary judgement, then I lose big. All of it. An Open and Shut Case. My lawyer said, however, that "Summary Judgement" is a radical procedure, and not to be taken lightly by the courts. It is unlikely, but of course, always possible.*

If they are NOT awarded summary Judgement, I haven't won a thing, other than the right to fight them (and rack up more attorney bills!). But it WILL show them that it's not a "grand slam" and perhaps it will knock them upside the head that they need to come down a tad on their settlement offers.

It's a big risk, But I really don't see any other way to play it. My Attorney and I are in constant communication, and are considering how best to pursue a settlement discussion before the summary judgement hearing. But let's be realistic... 50K is certainly not realistic. If the Court decides against me, so be it. I will be sunk by the cold machine. But I'm not going to drown myself ahead of time for FEAR of being sunk. Dead is Dead... What's the difference, really?

* Remember, one of the earliest conversations I had with my attorney, he warned me that it is a "higher than you'd imagine" chance that the Judge is already on the payroll of the bank anyway. So argue all you want. You're F$CKED from day one.

Exhausted, But With Complete Consensus

2009-02-27T16:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I spent the entire day at the offices of ID Magazine, judging the Annual Design Review for their Interactive category. Boy, did we see some amazing work. It was exhausting, spending about 11 hours there, but any day that I can not be chained to my desk making commercials, but rather meet and converse (and debate with) some of the brightest minds around is a pretty great day indeed.

I was supposed to have been one of the 3 judges for this particular category on this particular day, but a last minute cancellation by one of the judges (illness, apparently) left us scrambling at the 11th hour to find a third person. Everyone I suggested was too "close" to me (Alicia, Mike Essl, etc) and some of the other big-wigs I suggested are too busy to drop everything (Emily, Scott, Cadin) and one of the big-wigs was already judging another category another day, so it was pretty much a bust. But we soldiered on, the two judges that we were, and we ended up having a fantastic time! My other Judge was Neri, a brilliant Artist and Architect from the MIT labs, who lectures at every major university in the world and who's work has been shown at the MoMa, among many many others.

She was a joy to converse with, and inspiring to debate with and compare and contrast the work. I can't talk too much about the work until the issue comes out, just rest assured that it was (mostly*) jaw-dropping, and our top 3 were decided unanimously and instantly.

The Issue should hit newsstands in June, where not only will you read our commentary and see our choices (and reasonings behind it) but you will see a picture of the 2 of us as well... some of the photos they took of us looked like the prom! Ha!

I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about our choices, and hope that our decisions hold up to the test of time. I think we did our best, and sure met some fun and interesting people in the process. Thank you again, ID Magazine, for the honor of allowing me to participate!

* There was some crap, and some by people Alicia and I knew too! Ha Ha Ha... At least nobody there knew I worked on Botulinum Toxin**... that is an Alan Smithee project for sure!

** Speaking of Botulinum Toxin, the project is wrapped, the witch is dead, and we are drinking ourselves into oblivion tonight after work... 7:00pm at the Rodeo Bar... Be there, or be square.

AT-AT Walker Boombox Is So Awesome I Want to Cry

2009-02-23T16:38:00.001-05:00

courtesy of Gizmodo

Thanks (Again), Lou!

2009-02-18T12:54:00.006-05:00

Alicia had a Hood College Alumni event last night, a cocktail reception in the posh Midtown Executive Club. Andy Rooney was there, after his brief appearance at the last event (that Alicia and I reccomended the location for, the funky West Village's La Pallapa, wherein Andy came in, looked around, asked "What the Hell is THIS place?" and left after 15 minutes!) Ha! The Midtown Executive Club was MUCH more his scene.

Obviously not being a Hood Alum, I really didn't know too many people and didn't want to get in the way, so I hung back by the bar, where the gentleman in front of me was having a lively conversation with the bartender, being very specific about how he wanted his martini. This piqued my interest, and I mentioned to the two of them that it looked good, make mine a martini as well.

Then I noticed the gentleman pull out a silver container from his pocket, and he smiled and told me that he always brings his own vermouth! Double Ha! He spritzed some in his, politely asked if I would care for some as well, and I dutifully (and curiously) accepted.

He proceeded to tell me how he comes to this place at least once a month, because a club he belongs to meets on the top floor penthouse bar, and that this bar makes the best martinis in Manhattan (I guess it's just BYOV). I asked what club he belonged to, and he told me it was the Young Presidents Organization, a social organization of young titans of industry and robber barrons, who get together, and basically give each other work. He said that one of the requirements to join is that you need to be president of a company, and under 40... of course I meet these requirements. He mentions that it is a long waiting list, and it is very exclusive, etc etc, and I assure him I did not expecct to get in, laughing it off, and saying that my company was probably way too small to qualify anyway.

We change the conversation, and he asked where I went to school. I mention Cooper Union, and he asks me if I know Lou Dorfsman (ex-creative Director of CBS for 45 years)... Of course I do, he is only one of my biggest mentors, getting me my first job in television, and pretty much insisting that I even START in television, ditching my work in the web!

It turns out, he knew Lou very well, and had not one, but 2 company business cards designed by him in his wallet! I gave him one of MY cards, and he was taking down all my info, and he made a funny remark about talking to the Young Presidents Organization! Triple Ha!

Gotta thank Lou again. That guy is the most "connected" person in the world, even in his afterlife! And maybe nothing will come of any of this. But Aliciia remarked at the end of the night that I was "Something else" and that I wasn't even an ALUM and I had a great night. And if nothing else, it IS funny to picture a hippie like me hanging with the NY money men! I guess I should look into getting fitted for a monacle.

A Tribute To George Washington, Coke Doer And Cannibal

2009-02-16T15:13:00.001-05:00

From 236.com:

Yeah, ok, George Washington didn't actually eat the brains of his foes, but this video's pretty awesome anyway. We resurrected it to help you celebrate President's Day in the lewdest way possible. Enjoy!

From The BBC: Fresh Start For Lost File Formats

2009-02-13T15:08:00.002-05:00

From the BBC:

Long lost file formats could soon be resurrected by pan-European research.

The 4.02m euro (£3.58m) project aims to create a universal emulator that can open and play obsolete file formats.

Using the emulator, researchers hope to ensure that digital materials such as games, websites and multimedia documents and are not lost for good.

The emulator will also be regularly updated to ensure that formats that fall out of favour remain supported in the near and far future.

Called Keeping Emulation Environments Portable (Keep), the project aims to create software that can recognise, play and open all types of computer file from the 1970s onwards.

As well as basic text documents it will also let people load up and play old computer games that technology has left behind.
"People don't think twice about saving files digitally - from snapshots taken on a camera phone to national or regional archives," said Dr Janet Delve, a computer historian from the University of Portsmouth and one of the research partners on Keep.

"But every digital file risks being either lost by degrading or by the technology used to 'read' it disappearing altogether," she said.

Without work to preserve ways to access the formats that are common today, 21st century citizens risk leaving a "blank spot" in history, said Dr Delve.

Already the number of unreadable documents in archives is beginning to mount up.
Britain's National Archive estimates that it holds enough information to fill about 580,000 encyclopaedias in formats that are no longer widely available.

Research by the British Library estimates that the delay caused by accessing and preserving old digital files costs European businesses about £2.7bn a year.

"We are facing a massive threat of the loss of digital information. It's a very real and worrying problem," said Dr David Anderson, who will work with Dr Delve on the UK end of the project.

"Things that were created in the 1970s, 80s and 90s are vanishing fast and every year new technologies mean we face greater risk of losing material," he said.

Dr Anderson said emulation was more workable in the long term than the usual method of preserving old files which involves migrating information on to new formats with its attendant risks of data degradation and corruption.

Thanks to Paul Rachman for sending this my way!

Former Student Makes "GOOD"

2009-02-11T13:31:00.004-05:00

Erik Winkowski, a former star pupil from Cooper's Motion Graphics class, has just completed a fantastic and informative animation on the complexities of Corn in America for GOOD Magazine. Go watch it, and leave him a great comment! And don't forget to pass it on to friends if you like it!

Way to Go, Erik! (Nice GIGANTIC CREDIT at the top of the piece, too! ha ha ha)

NYT: Applications Surge At Cooper Union

2009-02-09T13:15:00.001-05:00

From NYTimes.com:

By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: February 8, 2009

Afreen Juli, a senior at the Bronx High School of Science, applied early to Cooper Union, a college in Manhattan that specializes in engineering, art and architecture. So did 10 of her classmates, the most ever from Bronx Science, one of the city’s most selective public schools.

Ms. Juli, who lives in Coney Island, said that she wanted to study film and art; she also applied to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. But, as she explained in an interview: “N.Y.U. is pretty expensive and I might not be able to afford it. Basically, Cooper Union is free.”

Founded 150 years ago by the industrialist and inventor Peter Cooper, Cooper Union is perhaps best known among New Yorkers for its iconic brownstone hall near Astor Place where Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Barack Obama have held forth. But for many high school seniors who are applying to college in the midst of an economic meltdown, Cooper Union’s commitment to full scholarships — regardless of need — has given the institution an almost mythic allure.

Already among the nation’s most competitive colleges, with an admissions rate of about 8 percent — on par with Juilliard or Harvard — Cooper saw about a 70 percent surge in applications for early decision this year, after annual increases of 5 percent to 10 percent over the last decade. Over all, the school expected to receive 3,300 applications this season for the 265 spots in the Class of 2013, including 750 students vying for 30 seats in the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture.

“I’m pretty confident that the economy played a big role,” said the dean of admissions, Mitchell Lipton. “You probably had a lot of parents who said: ‘Look, I know you’re looking at Cooper Union. You ought to make it your first choice.’ ”

While many of the nation’s elite colleges underwrite the education of poor students, Cooper is among a handful of private colleges that are tuition-free for everyone (it does not, however, pay for room and board, though financial aid is available for living expenses, and many students from New York City live with their parents). Some of the free schools are even smaller and more narrowly focused, like Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Mass., with 300 students, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, with 160.

Cooper’s applications have climbed steadily since 2000, and really took off this year amid the recession. That has complicated things for the admissions office, which involves faculty members in reviewing hefty portfolios that include take-home tests to determine a student’s creativity as well as drawings, architectural models and narrative writing.

“The home tests are a series of exercises that are difficult to fake,” said Anthony Vidler, dean of the architecture school. “We find it a very good filter for looking for talents that aren’t necessarily indicated by grades and SAT scores, even though those numbers are very high.”

At Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts, 63 of the 556 seniors applied to Cooper Union, 14 of them early. At Bronx Science, 11 seniors applied early decision — up from 7 last year and 1 in 2006. “What you hear over and over is that early decision demonstrates interest loud and clear,” said Darby McHugh, the college coordinator at Bronx Science. “Combine that with the economy, and it’s a perfect storm for Cooper.”

Paul Shao, 17, a senior at Bronx Science who lives in Hollis Hills, Queens, and plans to study engineering, had his early application deferred. If he gets in, he said, his parents plan on using the money they save on tuition to buy him a small apartment in Chinatown.

“It would really help my family out a lot,” said Mr. Shao, the son of a librarian and an accountant who himself works part time for a test-prep center. “My sister’s a freshman in high school, and my brother is 8. I don’t want my parents to pay more than they need to for my college experience.”

Each year, Cooper Union allots about $35 million to cover tuition. It is a tradition that was easier to sustain when the board of trustees included Andrew Carnegie and J. Pierpont Morgan. “There were five trustees and at the end of the year they would look at the deficit and divide by five,” said George Campbell Jr., the college’s president.

More recently, the college ran multimillion-dollar deficits every year, with its endowment bottoming out at $100 million after Sept. 11. But since then, the college changed its strategy regarding its significant real estate assets, renegotiating the lease on the Chrysler Building, which it owns; signing a 99-year lease on a large parking lot for $11 million; and leasing out its engineering building to a developer for $97 million. Last year, the college had its first positive financial ledger in a quarter century, and the endowment peaked at $608 million.

And because Cooper is so heavily invested in real estate, rather than the stock market, its endowment has held up better than most, and is currently valued at $594 million. This spring, the school’s first new academic building in decades is set to open at 41 Cooper Square.

“Cooper is ranked very highly both for quality and selectivity, and yet it’s an institution that has had to manage by its wits,” said Molly C. Broad, president of the American Council on Education, which represents two- and four-year colleges. “It is a great example of a set of characteristics that you just don’t typically find in American higher education.”

Yet Cooper Union and the other schools that offer free tuition have become so selective and are so focused that experts caution students and parents against putting too much stock in them. The Curtis Institute of Music received nearly 900 applications for about 40 spots in its incoming class, for example.

“It’s great that some people can go to these places, but they are few and far between and only the right school for certain students,” said Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the College Board and a professor of economics at Skidmore College. “And most people won’t get in.”

Those who do will enter an institution rich in history. The Foundation Building, where Mr. Obama gave a campaign speech on the economy in March, was also the site of the N.A.A.C.P.’s first meeting. The American Red Cross was organized there, and Susan B. Anthony had her offices there. It was built with its entrance facing the immigrant neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, symbolically welcoming the poor to a future of opportunity; each spring, graduates exit through another door, pouring out toward Fifth Avenue.

Ling Jessica Chu, a senior at La Guardia High School whose early application has already been accepted, said she was drawn as much to the small classes and the environmental credentials of the new academic building as the free cost. She planned to keep living with her parents, in Chinatown.

“I wanted to live in a dorm just for the experience, but then again I figured I’d save my parents the money,” said Ms. Chu, whose mother is a homemaker and whose father is a home attendant. “My parents were happy wherever I went. But I was pushing Cooper because of this economy.”

Other students, who come from out of town or out of state, have learned that tuition-free in Manhattan is hardly a free ride.

Natasha V. Broodie, a third-year art student from West Palm Beach, Fla., has had to juggle jobs to help cover her living expenses, namely rent on an apartment in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

Last semester, she had three campus jobs, working a total of 52 hours a week. Now, she is looking for a fourth. “My parents don’t pay for any of this,” said Ms. Broodie, who has a 3.6 grade-point average. “I’m pretty much on my own.”

House Of The Dead

2009-02-06T12:50:00.005-05:00

Life in the Vondracek/Cruz house has been hell the past few days. Fevers, coughing, insomnia, blacklung, skin burning in sunlight, snot, drool, levitation, pea soup, crucifix desecration, speaking in tongues... you name it.

Too sick to be at work this week, but was here all week anyway. Alicia had it way worse than ME, and IIII feel like crap.

Enjoy the music:

Download: Mudhoney: Touch Me, I'm Sick

Download: Rob Zombie: Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones)

Download: Matthew Sweet: Sick Of Myself (live)

Download: The Fever: Gray Ghost (my friend's old band!)

Download: Faith No More: Zombie Eaters

Download: Sufjan Stevens: They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come

Now Excuse me while I go eat some brains.

Excuse Me, There Seems To Be Some C**k in My Superbowl

2009-02-03T17:13:00.003-05:00

From DeadSpin.com:

For those Cardinals fans who claimed that Larry Fitzgerald's fourth-quarter touchdown catch was better than sex, they got a quick chance to compare. Immediately following the TD, instead of a replay, some Tucson area Comcast viewers got an eyeful of some full frontal male nudity from Club Jenna, an adult cable station. The porn flick images lasted anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds, according to which reports you read.

Fleshbot has the extremely NSFW video.

"KVOA will continue to investigate what happened to our clean signal and make sure our viewers get answers," Nielsen said in the statement. Comcast spokeswoman Tracy Baumgartner confirmed that the company's standard feed was interrupted during the Super Bowl, although she said its high definition feed was not.

Baumgartner said engineers at Philadelphia-based Comcast were investigating Sunday night. Tucson media outlets reported that they received calls from irate viewers about the pornographic material. Joel Hilander of Tucson told The Associated Press that he and his young children saw the clip. "I couldn't believe it. And I couldn't believe that my children were watching it either," Hilander said.

(Innocent children were not the only victims).

For more on this breaking story, let's go to the Arizona Daily Star message board:

• Yes, they did. I had two teenagers and a 10 year old watching the game with me and they all saw every graphic segment of it. What on earth is Comcast doing? I can't believe I pay them. — Celeste L. (Watchdog), February 1,2009 @ 8:35PM

• I saw it. Definitely about 30 seconds of a porn flick. — Kathy K. (kmkahle), February 1,2009 @ 8:35PM

• It was pretty bad. A Keith Urban-type guy is sitting down, and there's a woman next to him and she appears to have her hands down his pants. Then he gets up, and his pants drop, and there's a full reveal. It happened right after the Cards' last touchdown, so I wonder if there was a hacker/steelers fan on the loose at Comcast. — Gin R. (AZPainter), February 1,2009 @ 8:48PM

• This was disgusting and heads should roll. I would love to have someone come and explain this to my first grade students tomorrow! I am canceling my Comcast subscription tomorrow and I hope that all the other Comcast members do also. — jammie s. (densan), February 1,2009 @ 8:36PM

• OMG! I am SOOO angry about this. I don't think I will be watching the super bowl anymore. I had just called my teenaged daughter in to have her watch the replay of the last play. And then that comes on. I am furious. And it kinda kept you watching cuz you were thinking, 'ok, this HAS to be part of a really bad commerical' — Ann C. (backroadsann), February 1,2009 @ 8:41PM

• I had a 2 and a 7 year-old in the room and it was totally disgusting. Comcast better get ready to give all subscribers at least one free month of service for having to be subject to this filth! — Lisa D. (lisamb27), February 1,2009 @ 8:42PM

• My 88 year old neighbor lady called to verify if we had seen the same thing that she saw......she says she has a new lease on life!!!! — Keri H. (Keri), February 1,2009 @ 8:49PM

• Dang! I had a full living room of kids from 3-17 and their friends!!! What a horrible thing to happen! I'm going to have to disconnect...I can't trust that it won't happen during Barney or Sesame Street! — Tess L. (TucsonTess), February 1,2009 @ 8:58PM

• Yeah, well they interrupted my porn movie with 30 seconds of super bowl action. Nothing quite so disgusting as full-frontal football. Yeech. — Rowan D. (RowD1), February 1,2009 @ 8:58PM

Wow. How many people are fired for this?

Radiohead Unreleased Early Demo Tracks

2009-02-02T17:22:00.009-05:00

Mother lode. I had a few of these a long time ago, and was waiting for the right time to post it (After all, Radiohead on this site is LONG overdue). But today in my trolling, I found the remainder of the set, and 2 other amazingly rare finds.

These, dear readers, are the first recording sessions of Radiohead, looong before they were anything even CLOSE to being popular. I must admit, some of the tracks are terrible (just like the early NIN demos I posted last year! ha ha ha)

But many are still amazing. If you are like me, and remember fondly the good old days when Radiohead played "songs," then this is a no-brainer... Radiohead fan? Collector? Rarities Hunter? Like to brag about stuff at parties? This posting should have you all covered.

Radiohead 1988 Woodworm Studios Demos

01 - Happy Song
02 - To Be A Brilliant Light
03 - Sinking Ship

Thom Yorke - Vocals, Guitar
Ed O'Brien - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jonny Greenwood - Keyboards
Colin Greenwood - Bass
Phil Selway - Drums, Backing Vocals
Rasmus Peterson - Saxophone
Liz Cotton - Saxophone
Charlotte Cotton - Saxophone
Recorded at Woodworm Studios, Oxfordshire
Engineered and mixed by Dave Pegg
Quality: Excellent A+

Download: Radiohead: 1988 Wormwood Demos (zipped)

Radiohead - On A Friday / Shindig Demos
June / July / August 1990

01 - Climbing Up A Bloody Great Hill - Clifton Hampden Village Hall
02 - Somebody - Recorded in one or more bedrooms
03 - Mr B - Recorded at Clifton Hampden Village Hall
04 - What's That You See? - Rec. at Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall
05 - Everyone Needs Someone To Hate - Recorded in a bedroom
06 - Upside Down - Recorded in one or more bedrooms
07 - The Greatest Shindig Of The World - Recorded in a bedroom
08 - Give It Up - Recorded in one or more bedrooms
09 - How Can You Be Sure - Recorded at Clifton Hampden Village Hall
10 - Life With The Big F - Recorded at Clifton Hampden Village Hall
11 - Keep Strong - Recorded at Clifton Hampden Village Hall
12 - Rattlesnake - Recorded in one or more bedrooms
13 - Burning Bush - Recorded in one or more bedrooms
14 - Tell Me Bitch - Recorded in one or more bedrooms

Download: Radiohead: 1990 On A Friday Shindig Demos (zipped)

You are all quite welcome!

*** EDIT: Thanks to Citizen Insane for notating the duplicate and incorrect posting! I got all the information from the included text doc in the DLs, and had not listened to the entire thing yet, I was so happy to rush and share it! Thanks Again, and I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Just What I Needed! The Cars: 1980 Live In Tokyo

2009-01-31T21:25:00.005-05:00

KBFH (Un-broadcast?)
Tokyo, Japan
October 30th, 1980
* - Bonus tracks (raw versions or alternates)

Not real sure if this was ever aired or not.
The trader researched the KBFH archives, but couldn't find any details on this set.

As you can see, it is a fantastic setlist, at a fantastic sound quality, with some alternate takes too. Also included in the zipped file is some CD label artwork for your convenience!

Setlist:

1. Misfit Kid
2. Best Friend's Girl
3. Moving In Stereo
4. Just What I Needed
5. Gimme Some Slack
6. Candy-O
7. God Times Roll
8. Bye, Bye Love
9. You're All I've Got Tonight
10. Panorama
11. Don't Tell Me No
12. Double Life
13. Getting Through

Bonus Tracks:

14. Moving In Stereo *
15. Good Times Roll *
16. You're All I've Got Tonight *
17. Candy-O *
18. Best Friends Girl *
19. Just What I Needed *

Download: The Cars: 1980 Live In Tokyo (zipped)

As always, enjoy!

Born On The Fourth Of July

2009-01-25T16:56:00.006-05:00

Last night Gandmom Luh passed away, putting to end a long and protracted series of terrible injuries and hospitalizaions over the past year. I think we all feel about 3 parts grief, 1 part relief, that she is at peace with her husband, parents, brothers and sisters, and old German Shepherd "Fritz." (as a matter of fact, she is proabably up there with MY old dog "Patches" too, who absolutely adored her!!!)

A long and happy life, she lived in pretty much every part of this country (Colorado, Florida, MD, etc) and across just about every important development of the past 84 years. She had 3 sons and 2 grandchildren, who will miss her greatly.

When I was a kid, she picked me up from school every Tuesday (her day off from working at her Hallmark Store in Parkville) and watched me every Tuesday during the summers. Patches and I always looked forward to those days, and I can remember about 100 of them vividly. Childhood frinds of mine lived in her neighborhood, and visits were always looked forward to greatly. I teased her about her awful singing (it wasn't, really) and her awful cooking (It WAS, really), and always enjoyed going over to her house, the general "meeting place" for all of us on every major holiday. Christmas Eves and Easter Sundays, Thanksgiving Nights, Amanda's Birthdays... She was always there smiling and watching football and laughing with everyone, even when her pain and illnesses were more than most people would be able to bear.

Her Birthday was the 4th of July, and she told me when I was really little that all the fireworks and parades? those were for HER birthday... I believed her for a pretty long time. I still always laugh and think of that when Alicia and I watch the Macys fireworks off the coast of Manhattan.

We will all miss her very much.

***Alicia wrote more here.

Gimme Shelter: Neko Case Free Download Benefits Animal Charity

2009-01-20T14:46:00.007-05:00

According to Magnet Magazine:

Neko Case and her label (Anti-) are donating $5 to rescue organization Best Friends Animal Society for every blog post of Case’s new single, “People Got A Lotta Nerve.” The song from the forthcoming album Middle Cyclone (due March 3) can be downloaded by anyone for free at Anti-’s label blog, where you can also view Case’s public service announcement for Best Friends. Money will be donated from now until February 3. Additionally, a $1 donation will be made for every iLike user who adds the song to his/her profile. We predict widespread support for this effort, except maybe from this blog. (Why do we even remember that?) To read Magnet Magazine's forecast of Middle Cyclone, click here.

Here's the Song:

Download: Neko Case - "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Thanks to Tim P. (and of course, Magnet Magazine, above) for the heads up about this AWESOME news!

Well, When you Put it THAT way...

2009-01-19T14:13:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Who Says You Can't Toss a Fish at a President?

2009-01-18T12:13:00.005-05:00

The guard at the gate said, "Don't trust the government"
I woke up dirty, wondered where my money went
Who says you can't toss a fish at a president,
Say you're sorry and be on your way?

And you all rise up
When the plant shuts down
Tighten up girl
When your man leaves town
I'll kill the work song
When you're making car bombs.

Well now Jackson from the union is a company man
He got a company song, sings in a company band
The company picnic at the forest preserve
He got what he had coming, got what he deserved
His tires were slashed, his wallet was gone
He was last seen kissing on the owner's son
In the parking lot after the workers went home
He'll never stink of fish
And he'll always fish alone

And you all rise up
When the plant shuts down
Tighten up girl
When your man leaves town
I'll kill the work song
Go on making love, now

Now the girls in the break room, don't trust the union
'Cause Jackson's taking money from their checks for uniforms
Won't back em up on an overdue raise
Don't wanna make it with the fish and messing up the workplace
Some, they wanna leave by the river or the rail
I'm in the slammer, couldn't make the bail
Someone from the fish plant snuck into the jail
It was Jackson with a threat and a pocket full of scales
Pictures of my daughter and one of my mistress
We're naked making love and bringing vodka and the fishes
Jackson is the blind man, the company fool
His bride is my mistress
My kid is swimming in her womb
Yeah!

The guard at the gate said, "Don't trust the government"
I woke up dirty wondered where my money went
Who says you can't take a shot at a president,
Say you're sorry and be on your way?

Download: The Ike Reilly Assasination: Fish Plant Uprising

Loving This Song Right Now... It seemed really relevant to the ecomoy and election. I posted Ike Reilly before, but now I have his full album, We Belong To the Staggering Evening. It was one of my 2 favorite albums I got for Christmas this year... (other fav? Kings of Leon, a post uto itself!) Enjoy.

Death Race - Rad To The Extreme

2009-01-18T11:01:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, I know. You're thinking "How on earth could you have brought yourself to rent this? Why not get the cheese-fest classic original?"

To all you doubters out there, let me just say, i loved this movie. It so far exceeded my (albeit SMALL) expectations that I was thrilled. I've got news for you... you don't need to read this post at all... you already know if you are going to love or hate this movie. It is exactly what you hope it will be, or what you fear it will be.

IIIII found it very exciting, fantastically shot (and special effected) and loved the video game carnage and charcter motivations. The villans are BAD. the Hero is TOUGH. The sidekicks are smart and DEVIOUS. The (few) girls that are in it are used for eye candy only (a pretty serious charge one could level at the film) but it's so gleeful (and I would even say, sarcastic) about it, that I gave that a "pass" and still really had a great time. (what else would you expect from Roger Corman, anyway?)

If you think you might not like it, then you will HATE it.

But if you think you might almost like it... well, you MAY LOVE IT.

Count me in the latter group.

Wolf Creek - Now THAT'S more like it!

2009-01-18T10:50:00.002-05:00

After the great review at Blog-Sothoth I was very much looking forward to seeing this one. I won't give too much away, but I WILL go on record to say that this was EXTREMELY well done. Acting was stellar. Writing was stellar. Cinematography/DP was beautiful and artistic and terrifying. I thought the pacing was fantastic, and while I knew the "twist" before renting it, I was lulled in and suckerpuncched none-the-less.

It's a shame America doesn't make horror movies like this any more. Thank god the Aussies still do! Up next (for me) is their whacked out Crocodile film... I'm not too sure about that, but I wasn't too sure about THIS one either and I was blown away.

Run, do not walk, to your video house and rent Wolf Creek.

Warning: Not for the squeamish (or cowardly).

Mirrors- Not Worth The Film It's Printed On

2009-01-18T10:45:00.003-05:00

Mirrors wasn't even worth the film it was printed on. The acting was OK (Keifer Suterland, et al), but they simply had nothing of quality to work with.

This disappoints me to no end, because, despite the terrible reviews, IIII have a long-stanging "Irrational Fear" of Mirrors... so of all the people in the world this should scare, I should be in the top percentile.

Don't waste your time even with a rental or a Netfix. If it comes on cable for free and you are home alone on a dark and stormy night, I would STILL pass.

Bah.

ATTACK ON AMERICA!

2009-01-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

Just 4 days before the inauguration of Barack Obama, a gaggle of geese attacked a commercial airliner over the Hudson River in New York City . The brazen assault, called a "bird strike," happened minutes after USAirways flight 1549 departed from LaGuardia. We urge President Bush to show no mercy to these geese by invading a duck pond.

Update! 7:15 AM According to the Today Show, these geese may have been Canadian. Figures.

courtesy of 236.com

A Beautiful Life Cycle in Advertising

2009-01-15T15:15:00.003-05:00

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars

This is our decision to live fast and die young
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun!
Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We were fated to pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone

But there is really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run its course

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Download: MGMT: Time To Pretend

Loving This Song Right Now.... Enjoy.

Sacrifice 10 Friends for a Free Whopper

2009-01-13T17:00:00.005-05:00

The Whopper Sacrifice, a new Facebook application from Burger King, pushes the limits to see how much a Whopper is worth. It's simple: Defriend 10 friends on Facebook and you get a free Whopper.

As Posted by Andi Wang on Gizmodo:

When I logged into Facebook today, I received a friend request from our recently departed intern, Seung, who I knew I was already friends with.

"Did you delete me on Facebook?!" I asked him. He responded with a cackle and told me that our friendship was definitely worth the cost of a Whopper. A few moments later, I realized that more Gizmodo staffers were doing the same. Goddammit, guys! I'm a human being, not a piece of meat!

Sacrifice your "friends" here.

I wish I could trade in some REAL people from my life and get free Whoppers... Well, I guess there is always Soylent Green.

An Unkindness of Ravens

2009-01-10T23:24:00.003-05:00

A group of birds of any type is generically known collectively as a flock. For a number of individual birds, there exist poetic collective nouns particular to the type of bird. Many of these collective nouns are fanciful, and not in common use in English. The book An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton is a good reference for the collective nouns and their etymology, the third edition being the most well-researched. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Today's fanciful exaltation:

An Unkindness of Ravens.

13-10 against the top-ranked Titans? A nailbiter, and thrilling from first play to the last 53 seconds!

Way to go, guys! One game away from the big one!

Read all about it here.

Chad Pennington's new career is off to a bad start...

2009-01-05T20:37:00.003-05:00

After a diasterous confrontation with the Baltimore Ravens, Chad Pennington tries a new career.

(damn... this sucker doesn't even wait for the TRUCK to stop before he throws that hail mary! Somebody's brand-new something just got smashed!)

On New Years Day... (well, a day late)

2009-01-02T17:09:00.004-05:00

I Started posting this latest collection on New Years Day, but since the internet at the Holiday Inn is so slow, it wasn't really finished till now... sorry. But the wait was definitely worth it. Here is a 5 Disc collection of solo rarities from U2's Bono. Sound quality varies from source to source, but in all it is a pretty teriffic collection For U2 or Bono fans, as well as the rarities hunters ot there!

Enjoy! I have RARed each of the 5 x discs seperately for your downloading convenience:

Bono: Solo
Disc 1 of 5

1 - Two shots of happy, one shot of Sad
2 - One
3 - Give me back mu job
4 - In a lifetime
5 - Hallelujah 95
6 - Billy boola 94
7 - Save the children
8 - Silver and gold
9 - Let The Good Times Roll
10 - Tomorrow 96
11 - In The Name Of The Father
12 - Can't Help Falling In Love
13 - I've Got You Under My Skin

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 1 (rar)

Bono: Solo
Disc 2 of 5

1 - Elvis ate america
2 - Slug
3 - Your blue room
4 - Sweet fire of love
5 - Perfect day
6 - Slow dancing
7 - One
8 - Miss sarajevo
9 - Dreaming With Tears In My Eyes
10 - Jesus Christ
11 - I'm Not Your Baby
12 - Testimony
13 - Do They Know It's Christmas
14 - Purple Heart
15 - Always Forever Now
16 - Christmas (Please Come Home)

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 2 (rar)

Bono: Solo
Disc 3 of 5

1 - Lean on me
2 - Re-wired
3 - Mother of the disappeared
4 - One
5 - Mother of the disappeared mix
6 - Audiotrack 02
7 - Don't Take your Guns to town
8 - Miami
9 - All i want is you
10 - North and south of the river
11 - Sunday bloody sunday
12 - Ground beneath her feet
13 - Mother of god english
14 - Mother of god spanish
15 - Interview bono on netaid
16 - Drowning man
17 - Staring at the sun

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 3 (rar)

Bono: Solo
Disc 4 of 5

1 - Bono and the edge - all i want is you
2 - The ground beneath her feet
3 - Sweet jane
4 - wild irish rose
5 - Slide away
6 - Air suspension & bono - mocean
7 - Bono & the edge - she's a mystery to me
8 - springhill mining disaster
9 - Just ask (rare acoustic demo)
10 - Bono and the million dollar hotel
11 - One
12 - Wyclef jean & bono - new day

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 4 (rar)

Bono: Solo
Disc 5 of 5

1 - Stuck in a Moment - Bono and The Edge
2 - Misere - Bono and Pavorotti
3 - What is Going On - Bono and Chris Martin
4 - Falling at Your Feet - Bono and Daniel Lanois
5 - L Incontro - Bono and Andrea Bocelli
6 - Stay - Bono and Graig Armstrong
7 - Jump Start - Bono
8 - One - Bono
9 - Children of the Revolution - Bono and Gavon Friday
10 - Joy - Bono and Mick Jagger
11 - Beat on the Brat - Bono
12 - The Hands that Built America - Bono
13 - Ave Maria - Bono
14 - If You Wear that Velvet Dress - Bono and Jools Holland
15 - American Prayer - Bono and the Wheaton College Choir
16 - Summer Wine - Bono and The Corrs
17 - When the Stars Go Blue - Bono and The Corrs

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 5 (rar)

Happy New Year to everyone out there!

The "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody has received mixed reviews. How hilarious do you think it is?

2008-12-29T18:39:00.003-05:00

The "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody has received mixed reviews. How hilarious do you think it is?

A. Mixed reviews? Did some of them find it reprehensible while others thought it was "f**king reprehensible?"

B. My fiance and I have been looking for a first song for our wedding. It's either this or "One in a Million" by G n' R.

C. As a professional magician who is also extremely racist, I found the use of the term "magic" to be inappropriate. Aside from that, awesome.

D. Look, there's just no better way to address the concerns of marginalized civil rights leaders than through the universally respected art of racist song parody.

E. Limbaugh, you've done it again you obese, pill-popping imbecile!

POLL COURTESY OF 236.COM

Merry Christmas #9: Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008

2008-12-28T23:53:00.002-05:00

Here's a great little holiday treat for you (better late than never)... A Christmas Concert by Aimee Mann from just a few days ago... great sound quality, lots of christmas songs, lots of goofing around, lots of star studded guest appearances, lots of fun. Originally broadcast on WXPN, Public Radio, PA.

Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert
12/13/2008 - Glenside, PA
(FM broadcast)

01 - WXPN intro
02 - Show intro (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies)
03 - Calling On Mary [AM]
04 - Paul F. Tompkins intro & banter
05 - Sleigh Ride [AM & PFT]
06 - Nelly McKay (wearing a big red corset) intro & banter
07 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [NMK-sung in high voice]
08 - Grant-Lee Phillips (in snowman costume) intro & banter
09 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [GLP]
10 - Aimee banter & film introduction
11 - Film pt.1 (The Ghost of Christmas Past) [GLP, Michael Penn, PFT]
12 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #1
13 - Snow Miser, Heat Miser [AM, PFT, GLP, NMK]
14 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #2
15 - I’ll Be Home For Christmas [AM]
16 - Christmastime
17 - Take Me Away [NMK]
18 - Nelly with Rudolph toy
19 - A Christmas Dirge [NMK]
20 - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) [AM]
21 - Film pt.2 (The Ghost of Christmas Present)
22 - Wise Up [AM]
23 - Save Me [AM]
24 - Aimee introduces Amos Lee
25 - Winter Wonderland [AM & AL]
26 - Christmas In Prison [AL]
27 - Baby I Want You [AL]
28 - Paul F. Thompkins introduces “Willie Nelson”
29 - Voices Carry [as sung by “Willie Nelson” and AM]
30 - Film pt.3 (The Making Of The Christmas Movie) w/Michael Cera
31 - Aimee introduces Grant Lee Phillips
32 - You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch [GLP & AM]
33 - An Old Fashioned Christmas [GLP wAM]
34 - Winter Glow [GLP]
35 - Banter
36 - “The Hanukkah Fairy” (Morgan Murphy) appears
37 - The Immaculate Conception of the Hanukkah Fairy [MM]
38 - Film pt.4 (The Ghost of Christmas Future) [wJohn C. Reilly & Michael Cera]
39 - Freeway [AM]
40 - Dear John [AM]
41 - Long Shot [AM]
42 - Encore Break and Station IDs
43 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [All, including GLP in a Rudolph costume]

Download: Aimee Man: Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008 (zipped)

Some Stuff Santa Brought

2008-12-26T23:23:00.005-05:00

Some of the great stuff I got from Santa this year:

Music:

• Ryan Adams, Cardinology
(only 1 new album from Ryan this year? Slacker!)

• Against Me!, Acoustic EP
had a few songs from this, but not the entire thing... awesome

• Kings of Leon, Only By the Night
Am looking forward to hearing this whole thing... review to come

• TV on the Radio, Dear Science
Same with KOL...

• Ike Reilly Assasination, We Belong to the Staggering Evening
I posted 1 song from this a while ago on the blog, nice to hear the whole album!

• AC/DC, Black Ice
Walmart exclusive, and STILL one of Sony's biggest selling albums of the year

• Buckcherry, Black Butterfly
Josh Todd never disappoints!

• Wye Oak, If Children
Local kids (UMBC) make good... on Merge Records, too!

DVDs:

• Monster Road
(Doc portrait of Clay Animator Bruce Bickford)

• The Last 1948 Show
(The Classic Series that preceded and inspired Monty Python)

• The Dark Knight
(along with the rest of America)

• Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Season 6
(Food Items Solve Crimes)

Video Games:

• Dead Space (Xbox360)
Survival/Horror/Action in Space

• Gears Of War 2 (Xbox360)
Blockbuster Sequel to one of my favorite games

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox360)
dark side of the force... cooooool

• The Orange Box (Xbox360)
5 of the best games ever made (2007's game of the year) all on one disc, on sale for 20 bucks!

Libations:

• Lump Of Coal
(mmmmmm... favorite Chocolate Stout)

• Rogue Chocolate Stout
(mmmmmm...)

• Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
(had others from them, can't wait to try!)

• Porto Feist 1995 Vintage Port
(hand painted lettering on the bottle!)

• a Healthy mix of Old Dominion and such from Tim
(awesome! awesome! awesome! thank you!)

Various Awesomeness:

• NYT Obama Victory Issue, sealed in plastic
(GREAT IDEA, DAD!)

• 2 x Vintage Macintosh Ads (Think Different) Framed!

• Radioactive Octopus vs Frogmen

• Mad Magazine collection of Star Wars Parodies over the years

• Colored Pencils (w/ pad)

• Stuff White People Like (book)

• Clothes!

etc... etc... etc....

And the greatest gift of all?

• Delivering the Kidney Stone!
Sniff... It's a Cristmas Miracle!

Thank you everyone for what is probably my best "haul" of fantastic presents, I still can't believe this is the year we all decided to "cut back"!!!! I hope you all like what we got for YOU! I know we sure enjoyed giving them all to you! Merry, Merry Christmas, and I look forward to a new 2009 just around the bend! (Go Obama!)

Christmas Wishes DO come True (Merry Christmas #8)

2008-12-25T23:24:00.006-05:00

Well, God Willing, it seems like I have passed my kidney stone, just about 10 pm Christmas night. The past 72 hours have been absolute hell, and every muscle in my body is pained and exhausted. The little F#CKER was about the size of a "Nerd" candy and predominantly black.

I don't have much music here with me while in Baltimore (other than the awesome new stuff I got and am still sifting through), so for a late Christmas Night gift, I am posting a collection of all the Pearl Jam Christmas Fan Club Singles from every year released (up until this year, of course!)

A great collection of fantastic rarities (Angel, Driftin', etc) and bizzare ramblings and b-sides (ramblings 1 and 2, Olympic Platinum) and some awesome covers (Ramones, Dead Boys, Split Enz, Elvis, etc), these Vynl 45's come every year* to a member of the Fan Club, and these are every one of them from 1991 - 2007.

Merry Chrismas. I will sleep like the Baby Jesus in the manger tonight.

Tracklist Includes:

1991
-Let Me Sleep (Unreleased)
-Ramblings I (Unreleased)

1992
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)
-Ramblings II (Unreleased)

1993
-Angel (Unreleased)
-Ramblings III (live in Indio, CA 11/5/93)

1995
-History Never Repeats (Split Enz cover, live with Neil & Tim Finn)
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover, live with Joey Ramone)
-Swallow My Pride (Green River cover, live)
-My Way (Elvis cover with Elvis' cousin Terry, live)

1996
-Olympic Platinum (Unreleased)
-Smile (live in Barcelona, 11/21/96)

1997 (joint effort with R.E.M.)
-Happy When I'm Crying (Unreleased)
-Live For Today - R.E.M.

1998
-Soldier of Love (cover by Arthur Alexander)
-Last Kiss (cover by J. Frank Wilson)

1999
-Strangest Tribe (Unreleased)
-Driftin' (Unreleased)

2000
-Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone cover, live)
-Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis cover)

2001
-Last Soldier (live)
-Indifference (with Ben Harper, live)
-Gimme Some Truth (Lennon cover, live)
-I Just Want To Have Something To Do (Ramones cover)

2002
-Don't Believe In Christmas (Sonics cover, live)
-Sleepless Nights (Everly Brothers cover, live with Beck)

2003
-Reach Down (live, with Chris Cornell)
-I Believe In Miracles (Ramones cover, live)

2004
-Someday At Christmas (Jackson 5ive cover)
-Betterman (w/ Walmer High School choir from South Africa)

2005
-Little Sister (with Robert Plant, live)
-Gone (demo)

2006
- Love Reign O'er Me (The Who cover)
- Rockin' In The Free World (N. Young cover w/ Bono and The Edge-U2)

2007
- Santa God (Unreleased)
- Jingle Bells (James Pierpont cover)

Download: Pearl Jam: Fan Club Christmas Singles 1992-2007 (zipped)

* 1994 was the only year they didn't send one, but 1995's made up for it with a double vynl version with 2 albums sent...

You Shall NOT PASS!

2008-12-25T18:54:00.003-05:00

This exact scene is happening in my Kidney and Urinary tract right now.

The stone is still there, frolicking around, knocking me out for about 30-40 minutes every 4 hours or so. today has been better, but YESTERDAY was a nightmare. I had to excuse myself from Alicia's family's dinner to go upstairs on their sofa and shiver and teeth-chatter in utter misery. I fell sound asleep, then woke up feeling fine, came down for them to open presents, then we were off to Bob's house to exchange presents there. On the way in the car, I was hit with round 2, and I was down for the F'ing count. I seriously thought I was going to pass out in the car, and by the time we arrived at the house I was delusional and frantic, and I walked straight in, and straight upstairs immediately and fell asleep there for about a half hour or so. Again, I woke up feeling fine, and I came downstairs for presents and holiday merriment. Coming home I was rough, and I just collapsed in bed and fell sound asleep. Got a good night's sleep, and this am we got up early and went over to Grandmom Smiths, then off to Dayna's house in the evening.

6:30, and we are back in the hotel, and I am in for the night. Mild pain, but NOTHING like yesterday (yet).

Christmas presents have been fantastic though, I can't wait to share some of the new music, probably not until I return to NY though...

Tomorow we visit with Grandmom Luh in the hospital, then Mom and Amanda and Chris for early evening and dinner. All in all the pressure has been very low, and the visits have been very pleasant. With the economic downturn, we (along with most of the country, I suspect) just really all seemed to appreciate getting together, eating, drinking and being merry. ChristmasCrazyFest has been kept to a dull roar, and maybe it's just my majorly drugged up percoset outlook, but I sure do like it this year!

Merry Christmas to all. And to ME a good night (hopefully)

Q: When are 2mm more painful than 35mm?

2008-12-23T12:38:00.003-05:00

A. When It's a Kidney Stone.

Yesterday evening Alicia and I had dinner with my Mom and Amanda, and during dinner (possibly before) I started getting a weird, dull ache in the lower portion of my back. I assumed it was from carrying presents for the past few days, especially the TV we got for Alicia's Mom and Dad for Christmas, which I was carrying all by myself. Although Back pain is not really a problem I usually have an issue with, I thought " Oh well, I guess I'm getting older..."

After dinner we did a touch more shopping, finishing off the complete list, but the back ache was a bit worse. I laid on the floor, and Alicia showed me some back stretching and relaxation excercises, which DID feel good, but nothing seemed to work.

I went to use the restroom, and while there, became CONSUMED with a ferocious pain now in my front and abdomen. I got a terrible chill, teeth chatering and most of my muscles spasming and contracting involuntarily.

I really wasn't that scared, because at this point I pretty much knew exactly what it was.

11 Years ago, at the ripe old age of 21, I had my first kidney stone. I took an ambulance to the ER in Brooklyn (a. I didn't have a car. b. seriously thought I was dying). Once I passed that one, the doctor told me that if I was 21 and havng a stone, then my body just is going to keep making them, and he could pretty much gurantee that I would have them for the rest of my life.

11 years go by with no incident, but the loaded gun has been pointed at the back of my head the entire time.

I came out of the bathroom last night, and told Alicia with nearly 100% certainty that I had a stone, and needed to go to the ER right now. (it was now 11:30 at night, David Letterman had just come on the tv) She drove us to St. Joseph's er, mercifully only a 5 minute ride (have I mentioned that the Holiday Inn we stay at is in just about the most convenient location in the world?)

Checked in to the ER, was in triage about 15 minutes later (15 looooong minutes of agony, as well as a TV in the waiting room blaring Mike Huckabee on False News) and they weeled me into a room where I proceeded to die and ressurect, not unlike the Phoenix.

4:00am the worst appeared over, so they sent us home with a doping of morphine, a prescription for Percoset, and a bunch of paper strainers to pee into until it passes.

Got a few hours of sleep, awoke for 2 x conference calls for work, and I am officially taking it easy today (not that my body would allow me to do anything differently, anyway!

And to my ever anxious parents, Congrats, you are now Grandparents for the second time! This new baby's name is "Calcie" and she is 2 mm...

let's hope I get 11 more years of peace after this one...

Merry Christmas to me.

Still (Crazy) Busy

2008-12-22T21:30:00.004-05:00

My first full day "off" today in Baltimore had me on the phone, texting, setting up meetings, checking freelancer availabilities, turning down freelance work from other companies and getting FedEx info for sending out discs. Checking Animations for errors (found one!) revising and reposting, and coordinating others to send out the final delivered masters. Downloading and viewing boards, talking about them, and setting up 2 x phonecall meetings for tomorrow. (Whew.)

Christmas shopping for "ChristmasCrazyFest 2008" is officially done, as of 8:30 pm this evening. Probably the coldest day I could imagine, no less. (Although I can remember some cooooold days in High School Color Guard with the band for some St. Patricks Day Parades from hell!)

Although it's been stressful to manage, quite frankly I am relieved that it's happening... every year for the past 10 yeas has ended this way, and with the economy in total meltdown, I was getting nervous that this year's quiet phones were a sign of bad things to come. (I was reassuring myself that "steady" was the new "busy") But now I can sleep easy, knowing that all is right in the world, since my phone is melting and the office is on fire and everyone is in tears that I am not at the office for a few of the Holiest and most widely celebrated holidays in the United States.

No sweat.

Out With A Bang

2008-12-19T16:09:00.003-05:00

After a truly terrible end of the year (Botulism Toxin, et al) the last project of the year that snuck in was for Sony Music / Epic / Legacy and it was not only for my favorite band of all time, but for the MASSIVE anniversary re-release of their classic debut album!

We were hired to direct and animate a 60+ second animation showcasing everything that's in the massive box set. It's simple, and fun, and a really nice reminder why I like doing motion graphics. I can't post it yet (since it isn't officially approved yet) but once it is, I will post it here for you to see...

Another reason to smile? this job wraps the last day I am in the city before taking 2 weeks off in Baltimore for ChristmasCrazyFest 2008. And this job was, drumroll, please.... number 111 for the year... In all my years of owning and running my own business (that is many a moon, now) I have never broken 100 jobs in a calendar year. I just broke the record by well over 10 percent, and you figure 2 of those jobs were 10-12 month nightmares.. imagine how many we could have done if THOSE giant turds weren't on the schedule?!??! Ha!

Thanks to all those who have worked with me over the past year, and I look forward to seeing you all in the fresh new year of 2009... let's put 2008 out to pasture, already!

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

2008-12-18T14:34:00.005-05:00

Last night after class I had a pretty terrific email sitting in my "inbox." I was invited to be one of the judges for I.D. Magazine's Design Annual! I had been asked to judge another (smaller) competition earlier this year but was unable to do so because of their last-minute invitation (somebody famous had to back out at the last minute, and they needed a replacement!) but this is a much bigger deal.

I will be judging the interactive segment, which is both fun and curious, because while my training and early career experience was interactive, my niche for the past 10 years has pretty much been Motion Graphics. I think they liked that though, that I am not wholly consumed by the Interactive world but participate in the discipline of Design at large, and hopefully will bring a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh point of view to the category. (Hopefully nobody will see the Botox piece of $.H.I.T. I have been doing for the past year, lest they rescind the invitation!)

Needless to say, I was blown away and honored, and I RSVP'ed promptly for the date of February 26th to judge. I will post more as it develops, but for now I can just be pleased.

Class Is Wrapped (10 Years Down)

2008-12-18T13:55:00.003-05:00

Last night was the final critique for the Cooper Union class I teach, "Design In Motion." It wrapped pretty well, all things considered. This was my 10th year teaching, which really astounds me, since I have only been OUT of Cooper for 10 years. There has not been a September that I have not gone back to school since I was 3 years old. All the years at Cooper, the course curriculum has always been the same, but this year I gave them something new, which seemed to have a pretty good success rate. Their enthusiasm for the project, and the field of Motion Graphics in general was very high, which translated pretty well into the work, and most importantly, into their work ethic.

The assignment was to "Persuade. Change. Influence." Pick a cause. Anything. Political, sarcastic, comedic, social, anything you think you will be interested in for an entire semester. Then create 3 x promotional "spots" that advocate your cause, or change someone's mind or convince them of your cause. After all, what else IS a 30 second commercial other than someone trying to convice the viewer of something. Use the airwaves to get a message out that wouldn't normally be able to connect with a mass public.

The student solutions were great. We had a person champion (quite seriously) the plight of the oppression of Left Handed people in our society. We had a campaign maligning and criticizing the suburbs and sprawl. There were public service announcements about unwritten rules of courtesy for New York City (Don't walk four-side-by-side down the street). Cautionary spots about the dangers of Credit Cards. And my personal favorite, a propaganda campaign to convince people to move to Mars ("Red Is The New Green!")

Thanks to Joseph for being a terrific guest critic (especially on such short notice), and of course to Emily (who kicks butt as always with the final crit!) Sorry that Scott couldn't make it, but there's always next year! And thanks to They Might Be Giants, without whom the 10 years running of the 1-week assignments just wouldn't be the same!

After a Spring Semester hiatus,, I will return again in the fall, for another September spent in the world of academia. Here's to 10 more.

Happy Birthday Alicia!

2008-12-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to Alicia! Go over to her blog and wish her a happy one!

Pretty Early Machine (Merry Christmas #7)

2008-12-15T15:21:00.003-05:00

To any NIN fan who felt gypped by the last (funny) post, here is my apology...

the complete (?) demo recordings of Pretty Hate Machine, in all of their unfinished (and sometimes embarrassingly terrible) glory. PHM was a seminal album, and these demo tracks mostly represent that, showing a neat glimpse into the early creative process. But a few of them are simply 80s-pop-terrible! thank GOD they got majorly reworked!

But for the rarities-seeker, or the music fan or the demo track hunters out there, this is a rare find presented in fantastic quality. Your list of christmas gifts from this site continues to rise!

Tracklisting is as follows:
Nine Inch Nails
Pretty Hate machine Early Demos

01. Intro
02. Sanctified
03. Maybe Just Once
04. The Only Time
05. Kinda I Want To
06. That's What I Get
07. Purest Feeling
08. Ring Finger
09. Down In It

Download: Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine Demos (zipped)

Enjoy!

Nine Chip Nails

2008-12-15T15:04:00.007-05:00

Anyone who has seen my wallet or has read this blog before pretty much know my obsessions with Nintendo and my fanboy worship of Nine Inch Nails. (the guitar hanging on our home studio wall is testament enough).

Well in a "you got YOUR chocolate in MY peanut butter" tradition, 2 of my guilty pleasures have just been merged into one bizzare creation...

A free album tribute to Nine Inch Nails made entirely with an 8-bit video game sound system... all trent's hits, sounding as if they are the final boss battle in the original Metroid.

It's weird. And Fun. Not terribly GOOD, but worth a listen and great for a laugh. Interested in either of the 2? then this DL is a no-brainer...

Download: Nine Chip Nails: Various Artists (zipped)

Rejected Commercials

2008-12-10T18:44:00.002-05:00

This is old as the internet itself, but it needs to be shown.

Botulinum Toxin #1 (Merry F'n Xmas #6)

2008-12-10T16:25:00.012-05:00

Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances, and it is the most toxic protein. Though it is highly toxic, it is used in minute doses both to treat painful muscle spasms, and as a cosmetic treatment in some parts of the world. It is sold commercially under the brand names Botox, Dysport, and Myobloc for this purpose. The terms Botox, Dysport, and Myobloc are trade names and are not used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by C. botulinum. (-Wikipedia)

Even though I shipped the big broadcast project last week (the previous post has been edited since I posted it on the internet prematurely... sorry!) I am still saddled with the frights and horrors of This interactive CD-ROM, the other god-awful P.O.S. we've been dealing with for almost 12 months. Again, I can't stress enough how long 12 months is to be working on a single project for me... at least the Channel ID was with world famous Graphic Designers and will air across 22 countries of the Middle East. THIS? I wouldn't show this finished piece to my worst enemy, even if they were looking into getting some Chemical cosmetic work done!!! I mean, really... is this the sort of procedure that is BENEFITED by an interactive CD-ROM experience? I mean, does allowing the "user" to control a needle and inject an eyeball really illuminating in the medical sense? The amount of money these morons dump into this crap is staggering, and yet, with a 3 month budget that is now in month 12, all that cash is long dried up. Now I am just finishing it so I can have such an awesome piece in my portfolio. Because, you know, I haven't really been working on anything too good these past few years, I thought it was time to get some Botulism Toxin on the reel.

Sorry about the rant. things have been particularly bad and difficult over here with this crap, and I just wanted to rant and share my pain. Plus I thought it would give a good laugh or two! I kept muscling through hoping that I could finish it this calendar-year, but it seems the fates have aligned against me yet again. Oh well, you never know.... Christmas wishes DO come true sometimes I guess (although if I had only a single Christmas wish, I guess I'd use it for my lawsuit, not waste it on botulism!)

Anyway, a presription for this misery (take these 7 songs and call me in the morning):

Download: Radiohead: Fake Plastic Trees (Live, Acoustic 2003)

Download: Foo Fighters: Stacked Actors

Download: Amen: California's Bleeding

Download: Bon Jovi: Bad Medecine

Download: Faith No More: Midlife Crisis

Download: Hole: Miss World

Download: Radiohead: Fitter, Happier

I'll post more as the turd continues to burn...

Merry Christmas #5: Paul Simon

2008-12-07T15:01:00.003-05:00

Here is a fantastic 2-disc bootleg of Paul Simon Live at the Beacon theater in NY, December 2000. A fantastic show with fantastic sound quality. This will make a great gift for someone who's hard to buy for, trust me!

Paul Simon
Beacon Theater, New York, NY
December 8, 2000

(1) That's Where I Belong (3:31)
(2) Graceland (5:06)
(3) One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor (3:36)
(4) You're The One (5:02)
(5) 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (4:52)
(6) That Was Your Mother (3:31)
(7) Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard (3:11)
(8) The Teacher (4:14)
(9) Spirit Voices (4:38)
(10) Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes (7:18) =>
(11) You Can Call Me Al (5:13)
(12) Old Friends/Bookends (2:59)
(13) Homeward Bound (2:59)
(14) I Am A Rock (3:50)
(15) Darling Lorraine (7:02)
(16) Old (2:27)

(1) The Boy in the Bubble (6:39)
(2) American Tune (4:21)
(3) The Coast (5:35)
(4) Late In The Evening (6:48)
(5) The Late Great Johnny Ace (4:13)
(6) Hurricane Eye (6:07)
(7) Proof (5:48)
(8) Still Crazy After All These Years (5:52)
(9) Pigs, Sheep, and Wolves (4:09)
(10) Mrs. Robinson (5:11)
(11) The Boxer (6:58)
(12) Kodachrome (3:32)

enjoy!

Download: Paul Simon: Live at the Beacon Theater, NYC, December 2000 (zipped)

Merry Christmas #4: String Theory / Plush Christmas Party 2008

2008-12-07T14:44:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas #2: G 'N R First Sessions

2008-12-02T20:10:00.004-05:00

Holy crap, the Christmas presents just continue... can I keep it up for the next 23 days? This site might just turn into an Advent Calendar of unreleased rarities!

Today I have the first complete 1987 recordings of Guns N' Roses before the release of Appetite For Destruction.

It is pretty damned thorough, and absolutely a fantastic rock treasure. check out some of the covers: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Heartbreak Hotel, Mama Kin...

And notice 2 songs that made the much-later Use Your Illusion albums: Don't Cry and November Rain! Amazing. I knew nothing of this stufff, till I found it quite by accident trolling around the intertubes.

Here's the description that came with it:

GUNS N'ROSES SESSIONS - Liberated Bootleg
Japanese Silver Pressed Discs
Label: 'Uzi Suicide' - Unofficial
Matrix: GNR871/GNR872

*PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE*

This 2CD Japanese silver set features almost all of the tracks recorded during Guns N' Roses 1987 demo sessions.
Hence the name "Sessions". The only tracks missing are 'Out Ta Get Me', an alternate take of 'Rocket Queen', and an acoustic version of 'Move To The City'. Why these tracks were omitted is beyond me.

These discs have also released as No Refrain (CD1) and November Rain (CD2).

The tracks on 'Sessions' seem to come from a better source/transfer as there are less audible artifacts present in the background.

Highlights of 'Sessions' include two completely unique versions of 'November Rain', as well as raw early versions of 'Paradise City', Nightrain', 'Don't Cry','Back Off Bitch', 'Shadow Of Your Love', and multiple takes of two unreleased covers; 'Heartbreak Hotel', and, 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'.

This incredible document of the early years of Guns N' Roses career is a must for any hard rock fan.

CD I 60:06

[01] Jumping Jack Flash
[02] You're Crazy
[03] Reckless Life
[04] Heartbreak Hotel
[05] Shadow Of Your Love
[06] Welcome To The Jungle
[07] Move To The City
[08] Mama Kin
[09] Mama Kin
[10] Heartbreak Hotel
[11] Instrumental Jam
[12] Jumping Jack Flash
[13] Jumping Jack Flash
[14] West Coast Junkie....
[15] November Rain

CD II 64:35

[01] Rocket Queen
[02] Night Train
[03] My Michelle
[04] You're Crazy
[05] Paradise City
[06] Move To The City
[07] November Rain
[08] Shadow Of Your Love
[09] Wreckless Life
[10] Think About You
[11] Welcome To The Jungle
[12] Don't Cry
[13] Nice Boys
[14] Back Off Bitch
[15] Anything Goes

Download: Guns 'N Roses: First Sessions (zipped)

as always, enjoy! (and we'll see what I can dig up tomorrow!)

Merry Christmas #1: Fecal Matter

2008-12-01T18:03:00.003-05:00

Since it's December (already) I decided to start to break out some real rarities and nice finds from deep in my collection, the type of stuff that might even make a good Christmas present for someone you know!

What better place to start than Nirvana? Here is their first demo tape from 1985, called Fecal Matter. The sound is not great, but it sure is a piece of history.

From Wikipedia:
Fecal Matter was a short-lived band from Aberdeen, Washington, that formed in late 1985. It was the first band conceived by Kurt Cobain, who would become famous as the frontman of the seminal grunge band Nirvana. Other significant members included Dale Crover and Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, which would also become highly influential. The band's only known demo tape, entitled Illiteracy Will Prevail, has become a much sought-after rarity among Nirvana fans, as it features the first songs written and recorded by Cobain.

History:
The band was formed in late 1985 and consisted of Cobain on guitar and vocals, Dale Crover on bass, and Greg Hokanson on drums. In December that year, Hokanson left the band. Later that month, Cobain and Crover went to Cobain's aunt's house in Seattle with a large book of lyrics and recorded the demo Illiteracy Will Prevail on a 4-track.[1] Cobain performed guitar and vocals, while Crover played bass guitar and drums.
In January 1986, Buzz Osborne joined as bassist and Mike Dillard joined as drummer. According to Michael Azerrad's Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Cobain thought Osborne did not take the band seriously enough and refused to buy a bass guitar amplifier.[2] In February, Fecal Matter disbanded and the Melvins recorded their debut EP.
After Fecal Matter disbanded, Cobain began passing the demo tape around to friends and peers in hopes of starting a new band. Cobain was particularly proud of the tape. To him, the tape showed that he did have talent. He had wanted to start a band with friend Krist Novoselic for some time. After hearing the tape (and particularly liking "Spank Thru") Novoselic agreed to form a band in mid-1986. That band would later be known as Nirvana.
The song "Spank Thru" was the only one from the tape to be officially released; it featured on the 2005 Nirvana rarities album Sliver: The Best of the Box. However in March 2006, incomplete poor-quality clips of many of the songs were leaked on a Nirvana website. One week later, three full songs from the demo were briefly hosted on a MySpace site; "Sound of Dentage", "Bambi Slaughter" and "Laminated Effect". The clips were confirmed as authentic by Mike Ziegler (and others who have heard the demo) on a website popular with Nirvana collectors. The source of the three full songs remains unknown.

here's the tracklist:

01. Sound Of Dentage
02. Bambi Slaughter
03. Laminated Effect
04. Accusations (Clip)
05. Class of '86
06. Class of '86 (Clip Version)
07. Boatakk (Clip Version)
08. Boatakk (Full w/ Instrumental)
09. Anorexorcist (Clip Version)
10. Love My Family (Unknown) & Anorex
11. Vaseline (Unknown)
12. Spank Thru
13. Blathers Log (Clip Version)
14. Blathers Log
15. Buffy's Pregnant
16. Buffy's Pregnant (Part 2)
17. Downer

Download: Nirvana: Fecal Matter Demo Tape, 1985 (zipped)

Like I said, the sound quality is about what you would imagine the first recored demos of Kurt Cobain would be (rough at best) but for a collector or rock fan, this might just make their Christmas!

enjoy.

Are You Gonna Pay Your Citibank Bill This Month?

2008-11-24T18:33:00.003-05:00

Are you gonna pay your Citibank bill this month?

A. Yes. I never miss a payment. Every month I send in my check, making sure to dab a small blot of my own fecal matter in the memo line.

B. Yes, it's perfectly justified that I'm being charged a 33% APR while they get $20 billion in free money.

C. I don't have any food, clothing or shelter. So no, I might go with the late charge this month.

D. Why start now? Oh my God, did I cause this?!

E. Since Citigroup laid me off last week, no, I don't think I'll be able to get them their monthly minimum just now. But congrats on the $20B guys!

POLL COURTESY OF 236.COM

(Of Course, Citi is not the bank giving me hassles, but hey, if it can happen to THEM, there is hope that it will happen to Capital One... may they all burn in hell. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.)

A Masterpiece?

2008-11-23T15:24:00.007-05:00

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is not the movie the trailers would have you believe. Described by some marketing department somewhere as a cowboy tale of obsession, revenge and betrayal, this film has those elements of course, but is so much more beautiful and poetic and deeply serious and thoughtful than any trailer could possibly try to encapsulate.

The cinematography is unbelievable (the bizzare lensing that gives the distorted depth of field and rainbow-like visual artifacts is a beautiful, artistic sight to behold) the acting pitch perfect, the narration intelligent and thoughtful as it is sparse and poetic, the score (by Nick Cave!) haunting, piercing and deeply resonant, I simply could not look away from this movie. It is LONG. It is ponderous. it is morally ambiguous. It is documentary. It is drama. It is the movie I would like to think I would make if I made a movie on my own.*

Every year I keep my eyes peeled for one film that defies my preconcieved expectations... I think Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" was the last time I have been so wrong about a film before actually seeing it. No Country For Old Men (although I had issues with it immediately after my first viewing) haunted my thoughts and dreams obsessively for the 3 months following. And I think I have this year's winner (although the year isn't over yet!).

This movie is definitely NOT for everyone. Hell, it's probably not even for MOST people. (Alicia fell asleep before the opening title sequence, and didn't even blink her eyes open until the closing credits) but my imagination was completely absorbed.

I cannot possibly reccomend this movie more for those cinefiles out there (you know who you are!) It's NOT Deadwood. It's NOT the Unforgiven. It's NOT Tombstone. It MIGHT be a masterpiece.

* (funny enough, it was given to me by a client/friend who is starting work on a new doc about Wyatt Earp, and wants to involve me not only in the design of the doc, but on visual/art direction for principal photography as well, and she told me to check this out and we'll have lots to talk about... fingers crossed if they want to go down such a creative route as this for OUR doc! talk about an opportunity!)

Like Reviewing a Unicorn...

2008-11-23T15:04:00.003-05:00

Chuck Klosterman Reviews "Chinese Democracy"

An amazingly good read for such a monumentously long-awaited album opus 15 years in the making.

It's an intelligent and thoughtful review that is blisteringly funny and smart and empathetic and told from a true rock fan (and GnR fan's) point of view...

some particulary good lines:

"A song like "Shackler's Revenge" is initially average, until you get to the solo—then it becomes the sonic equivalent of a Russian robot wrestling a reticulating python. "

"What finally made him decide, "You know, I've weighed all my options and all their potential consequences, and I'm going with the Mexican vampire accent. This is the vision I will embrace. But only on that one line! The rest of it will just be sung like a non-dead human." Often, I don't even care if his choices work or if they fail. I just want to know what Rose hoped they would do."

"Sometimes listening to this album feels like watching the final five minutes of the Sopranos finale. There's no acceptable answer to these types of hypotheticals."

read his whole review, and see what he gave it (I completely agree, by the way!)

Cooper (re)Union

2008-11-18T16:59:00.005-05:00

This Saturday was my 10 year college reunion of the little school in the Village nobody's heard of. All in all it was a good time. Turnout was just about as low as I expected it to be (after all, Cooper Students are not really known for their common courtesies, much less actual friendship or bonding.) It was a solitary school experience, so having maybe 5 of the art students show up is I guess par for the course.

Any chance to see Theo is always fun (although I see him all the time... no need for a reunion) and of course I was excited to see Heather and Catherine and Eric and Shaun, as well as some engineer friends (Felicia, Sanjeevanee) and was disappointed that Grace (whom I spoke to last year) and Rob and Mark were MIA. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

First there was a non-tour of the new academic building being erected in the footprint of the old Hewitt Building. I say non-tour because it was ludicrously uneventful. We walked inside the construction about 10 feet... stood there while the guy told us nothing, then asked if we had any QUESTIONS about the nothing he just told us, then we walked outside to the street and around the building... I could have just done that on my own (as a matter of fact, I DID do that entirely on my own a few months ago!!!)

Then we stood around (outside in the frigid element, no less) for about 2.5 hours while we waited for the actual reunion to sart, down the street at a little bar called Sophe's. Most people who WERE there just grumbled and left.

Once we hit Sophe's the atmospphere picked up alot. More people showed up for the evening event, and once the beer was flowing it all loosened up alot. Most people didn't recognize me at first (a fact I braced myself for a few moths ago) but Catherine didn't reconize me at ALL, actually ignoring me a bit while I tried to say "hi" to her 3 times, then doing a double take, freaked out and laughed and jumped on me with a giant hug (nearly knocked me over) when she realized who I was!!!

Heather walking in, and across the room, didn't recognize me, but saw me standing at the bar rapidly shaking my leg in the nervous way I always have, and she came over cautiously until she saw it was in fact me, then just lit up like a Christmas Tree with smiles and hugs.

We all mingled for a while, then as the evening wore on we broke out for dinner with Theo, Heather and Patrick, and Alicia. It was nice to actually sit and talk and catch up (although I feel like I drank too much to actually talk clearly)...

After dinner, it was back to Upstate NY for Heather and Patrick, back to Park Slope for Theo, and back home for Alicia and I. I regret not keeping more in touch over the past 10 years, but it sure was nice to actually see these folks and I am glad to hear how well most of them are doing in their respective careers and lives.

And to all of those who DIDN'T show? That's ok... we just talked shit about you anyway...

Well, see you in 10 more years I guess!

Download: Beach Boys: Be True To Your School

Download: Foo Fighters: (How good it is to) See You

Download: The Hold Steady: Certain Songs

Download: John Mellencamp: Jack and Diane

Download: Hole: Rock Star

Download: Mike Ness: Don't Think Twice (Dylan)

enjoy.

Spiders! Spiders!

2008-11-17T15:50:00.003-05:00

Download: Wilco: TheSpiders (Kidsmoke)

This Wilco song has one of my favorite guitars of all time, bar none. It's a long one, and takes some time to build, but once it does, it sure does burn! I hope you enjoy!

Analog to Digital Television Conversion PSA

2008-11-12T15:18:00.006-05:00

As you all may (or may not) know, come Feb. 2009, all older, analog televisions need to be upgraded to digital in order to continue to receive picture. Here is a video guide to help you with the transition.

Enjoy. (I just about cried!)

We went to bed early last night... what did we miss?

2008-11-05T12:37:00.002-05:00

We went to bed early last night... what did we miss?

(joke courtesy of 23/6)

a righteous wind

2008-11-05T10:03:00.005-05:00

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Download: Eddie Vedder: The Times (They are A Changin')(B.Dylan)

Download: Edddie Vedder: I Am A Patriot (Little Steven)

Download: Edddie Vedder: I Won't back Down (T.Petty)

enough said.

Under The Covers With Wilco

2008-10-28T18:20:00.005-04:00

Not a long post tonight, I am too fried. But I have been waiting for a WHILE to post this, so hold on to your hats.

I have (thanks to Heather at Fuel/Friends) a fantastic career-spannning collection of rare live cover songs from Wilco. It is a 2 Zip set, and it is fantastic. Audio quality ranges from song to song because of the different sources (and age of some of the recordings) but has a great overall feeling. A MUST for any Wilco fan, and a real treasure-trove for those who love a good cover!

here's the tracklisting (as best I have, anyway):

##################################
WILCO: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS - DISC ONE
##################################

Listen to Her Heart (9/10/95): Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Peace, Love and Understanding (4/17/96): Nick Lowe - (Golden Smog)

Love & Mercy (4/17/96): Brian Wilson - (Golden Smog)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (1/11/97): Jane Taylor

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (2/15/97): Carole King

Color Me Impressed (5/10/97): The Replacements

I Wanna Be Sedated (5/10/97): The Ramones

Drown (5/23/97): Son Volt

True Love Will Find You in the End (9/4/97): Daniel Johnston

Ever Fallen in Love (10/30/97): The Buzzcocks

Sunday Bloody Sunday (11/4/97): U2

Sugar Baby (11/7/97): Doc Boggs

Tear Stained Eye (11/7/97): Son Volt

If It Makes You Happy (11/7/97): Sheryl Crow

Won't Get Fooled Again (11/7/97): The Who

Ingrid Bergman (3/26/98 ): Woody Guthrie/Billy Bragg

John Wesley Harding (3/26/98): Bob Dylan

100 Years from Now (6/12/98): Gram Parsons

James Alley Blues (8/30/98): Richard "Rabbit" Brown

A Fool Such As I (10/19/98): Elvis Presley

I'm Only Sleeping (11/12/98): The Beatles

Yesterday (11/15/98): The Beatles

Rainbow Connection (12/30/98): Kermit The Frog

She's a Jar, hip-hop version (6/15/99): Wilco

Oklahoma USA (10/20/99): The Kinks

Thirteen (10/20/99): Big Star

Dreaming (10/21/99): Blondie

Any Major Dude (11/5/99): Steely Dan

Cock in My Pocket (11/5/99): The Stooges

#################################
WILCO: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS - DISC 2
#################################

Give Back the Key to My Heart (11/22/99): Doug Sahm

Kingsport Town (1/4/00): Bob Dylan

Lookin' for a Love (1/4/00): Neil Young

King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1 (1/9/00): Neutral Milk Hotel

Rock Salt and Nails (5/14/00): Bob Dylan

Organ Blues (5/14/00): T. Rex

Reflections in a Crystal Wind (9/12/00): Richard & Mimi Farina

I'm Into Something Good (9/13/00): Herman's Hermits

Colon song (11/16/00)

Stairway to Heaven (12/20/00): Led Zeppelin - (Golden Smog)

Ripple (2/25/01): Grateful Dead

I Wish I Was Your Mother (9/15/01): Mott The Hoople

No Depression (11/18/01): The Carter Family

It's Alright to Cry (2/17/02): Rosie Grier

Three Is a Magic Number (2/17/02): Schoolhouse Rock

Yellow Submarine (2/17/02): The Beatles

We Will Rock You (2/17/02): Queen

Be Not So Fearful (4/6/02): Bill Fay

TV Eye (5/26/02): The Stooges

Henry & the H-Bombs (6/10/02): Mott The Hoople

Here are the zips

Download: WILCO: Other People's Songs Disc 01 (zipped)

Download: WILCO: Other People's Songs Disc 02 (zipped)

Download and Enjoy.

A Moral Defense, Not a Legal One

2008-10-27T14:56:00.004-04:00

My lawyer just informed me that North Fork Bank is coming on strong right now, ratcheting up the attacks and pushing for some sort of immediate judgement of "No Contest" saying that my defense, while a strong moral one, has no legal strength.

I am sorry, call me naive, but I somehow still thought the 2 of those were sometimes the same thing. Stupid me.

Stupid me for believing that this system wouldn't screw an innocent person. The lawyer is going over the paperwork today/tonight with fresh eyes (it HAS been a year, after all!) and we'll try to get a plan tomorrow. His questions to ME were:

"Is your business still financially in peril like it was when we last spoke?"
(translation: you are in jeopardy.)

"Do you want to continue to fight?"
(translation: probably going to lose)

"How about Settlement?"
(translation: Banks are so desperate, they need to get SOMETHING")

My answer to all the above is an exasperated "Who the F*CK KNOWS???"

I feel like if we just plain out lose, I should have just skipped on the whole lawyer thing. Could have saved countless thousands of dollars.

Also, I figure if I AM being held liable, at least give me the freaking EQUIPTMENT/FURNITURE in that place!!! I KNOW it's still there, because I pass the old space once a week and look up into the big window and can see it all sitting right there!

I could sell it and get 30-40k I'm sure. Of course, had we all sold it over a YEAR ago like I TOLD them to, the bank would have gotten every red cent I'm sure. No harm, no foul.

If I SETTLE, then for how much? what is the rule of thumb for something like that? I have no frame of reference because I never saw DIME-ONE of that money to begin with... how can IIIII say how much imaginary loan I should have to pay back?? It might as well be a Quadrillion dollars. It might as well be McDonalds Monopoly coupons. Or Marlboro Bucks.

Stay tuned I guess. As It develops I'll post here.

What a joke.

In honor of the moment, here is a short but sweet Bootleg I have of Rage Against The Machine reunited in 2007 for the Coachella Festival.

The show is short and blistering. Sound quality's not very good, but hey, these songs aren't really about clear crisp audio and harmony. It's pretty much just about Rage. Against machines. Or something.

Rage Against The Machine: Live @ Coachella 2007
01. Testify
02. Bulls On Parade
03. People Of The Sun
04. Bombtrack
05. Bullet In The Head
06. Know Your Enemy
07. Down Rodeo

Here's the Zip!

Download: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE: Live @ Coachella 2007 (zipped)

Download and enjoy!

Some Folks Inherit Star Spangled Eyes

2008-10-24T13:24:00.006-04:00

This blog has been posting a lot of youtube political clips lately, so I thought it was time to steer it back (momentarily) to it's more musical pursuits. I swear, I don't think I am going to MAKE IT 12 more days... my tension/anxiety level is through the roof...

Shuffling the iPod during my nighttime walk saved the day again, when REM's cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" came up. I then remembered some great OTHER covers and collaborations I had of CCR and John Fogerty, so I thought that this election season would be a timely time to post them!

Culled here are 6 x tracks, R.E.M. (1985), Pearl Jam (Rock for Choice 2004), Foo Fighters (Hurricane Katrina Benefit), and Bruce Springsteen with John Fogerty (Rock for Choice 2004).

Download: R.E.M: Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (CCR)

Download: Pearl Jam: Fortunate Son (CCR)

Download: Foo Fighters: Born On The Bayou (CCR)

Download: Bruce Springsteen w John Fogerty (1993): Who'll Stop The Rain?

Download: Bruce Springsteen w John Fogerty (2004): Proud Mary

Download: Bruce Springsteen w John Fogerty (2004): Bad Moon Rising

And, as an added bonus for all you John Fogerty/CCR lovers out there, I have a big ol' ZIP file of a bootleg of John Fogerty "Swampfox." Unfortunately I don't have a lot of notation on it (Where? When? Setlist?) But the sound quality is A+ and the setlist is fantastic.

Here's the Zip!

Download: John Fogerty: Live "Swampfox" (zipped)

Download and enjoy!

P.S. I have a metric TON of the concerts, collabortations and rarities from the 2004 Rock For Change Tour (Bruce, PJ, REM, John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, the list goes on and on) so if this post proves to be a hit, let me know, and I'll dig out some other stuff and post it! Feedback is the only way I can tell who's liking what, and what more I should post!

Republicans Voting For Obama: In Their Own Words

2008-10-23T14:21:00.003-04:00

This brought a completely non-sarcastic tear to my eye. Bringing people together is the only way this country is going to heal. Enjoy.

Like Fleas Jumping Off A Dead Dog

2008-10-22T18:06:00.005-04:00

This website just made my day. I bookmarked it. I can't WAIT to see this list grow!!!! It made me smile all day reading it.

The Jed Report: Ship Jumpers

McTitanic is about to hit the Obamaberg.

Thanks To Phil Roc for sending it my way. Enjoy.

Best Shot Ever?

2008-10-20T11:41:00.004-04:00

pickle back:
noun
—a shot of Jameson with a shot of pickle-juice brine

Sounds terrible, I know... but if you love pickles (and I certainly do) then it's out of this world.

Ok here goes:

How do you say Pickle in French?
Pickle in French.

Should you ever eat a pickle on an empty stomach?
No! You should always use a plate.

What's the phrase most commonly heard at pickle card games?
Dill me in!

What's the difference between a ten cent pickle and a quarter pickle?
Fifteen cents!

Why did the pickle wear red suspenders?
The blue ones broke!

How do you make a pickle sour?
The same way you make a whiskey sour only use a pickle.

Why did the pickle take a ladder to school?
It was going to High School.

IQ test: A pickle worker was five feet tall and wore a size eight shoe. What did he weigh?
Pickles, of course!

How do you make a green pickle?
Cross a blue pickle with yellow one!

What business does a smart pickle go in to?
He opens a dilly-catessen!

Hoo boy. It's going to be a long day.

This last debate already happened!

2008-10-17T21:12:00.003-04:00

This last debate has a lot of similarities to this clip. check it out, see if you agree. Enjoy!

Letterman Rips McMaverick A New One

2008-10-17T12:56:00.004-04:00

With hundreds of press, pundits, experts, interviewers, etc all covering this campaign, I can't believe it took a Late Night Talk Show Host / Comedian to give the candidate an actual intense interview proper. Go Dave. I won't blather on about it at all, it's an over 20 minute clip (with commercials and all) but it is worth the watch. Probably the best interview I've seen YET of the candidate. It makes my heart fill with glee to wonder just how MANY people watched this last night. Enjoy!

McMaverick: My Fellow Prisoners

2008-10-14T14:26:00.001-04:00

Wow. He didn't even NOTICE.

Thanks to Mike E. for this awesome clip!

No School Like The Old School

2008-10-13T11:31:00.004-04:00

Alicia and I went to see Guy Ritchie's new movie "RocknRolla" last night, and boy was it awesome. With so many terrible copycat movies out there, aping his style (Smoking Aces and Shoot 'Em Up are two god-awful ones that come to mind) it is great to see Ritchie back in his natural habitat, with smart characters, triple crosses, thick accents and a healthy dose of just plain terrible luck. Far superior in every way to the clones and knock offs, as good or better than his other ("Snatch" and "Lock, Stock"...) and it downright demolishes the waste of film that was the Cohen Brothers latest opus, "Burn After Reading."

If "Snatch" wasn't your thing, then skip the movie alltogether. But if it was, don't hesitate to see this one on the big screen! Great performances by all. Great looking. Fast moving. and smarter than the average shooter. The soundtrack was a blast too, with The Clash, Lou Reed, The English Beat, The Sonics, Black Strobe, The Subways, and lots more.

A real treat for true RocknRollas.

* EDIT: Alicia reminded me to mention... it was a great HBO cast, with Stringer Bell, Benjamin Franklin, and Ari Gold!!! All were fantastic. It's good to see the beloved characters from HBO do well on the big screen!

The Hand That Feeds

2008-10-11T14:12:00.009-04:00

One of the shows of the latest "2008 Lights In The Sky" Tour. Lots of new songs from his latest (free) album "The Slip," released online as much as a thank you to fans as a fuck you to the industry.

The sound quality is excellent (it was broadcast over the radio in South America) unfortunately, it's just audio, because the visuals of these shows are a graphic designer's absolute dream.

I was so blown away when I saw him at the Garden that when the (smashed) guitar from that show came up on auction to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims, I dug deep and won the auction. It now hangs in our home studio office, in all it's smashed glory.

I have a ton of rare NIN stuff, but this boot is so new I haven't even listened to the entire thing yet. I was so excited about finding it, I just wanted to share it immediately!

I Figure it's the perfect soundtrack for the (soon to be) end of the world.

Here's the Tracklist:

Nine Inch Nails
Movistar Arena
Santiago, 2008

01. 999999
02. 1000000
03. Letting You
04. Discipline
05. March of the Pigs
06. Piggy
07. The Frail
08. The Wretched
09. Head Down
10. Closer
11. Gave Up
12. Corona Radiata
13. The Warning
14. Vessel
15. Pinion
16. Wish
17. Terrible Lie
18. Survivalism
19. The Big Comedown
20. 31 Ghost
21. Only
22. The Hand That Feeds
23. Head Like A Hole
24. Encore Break
25. Echoplex
26. Reptile
27. God Given
28. Hurt
29. In This Twilight
30. Zero Sum

Here's the Zip!

Download: Nine Inch Nails: Live in Santiago, 2008 (zipped)

enjoy!

Acoustic Submarine

2008-10-05T13:23:00.003-04:00

I have no topical reason for posting this, other than I just came across it the other day, and have been listening to it non-stop, and just had to share it. What we have here is an AMAZING bootleg of The Beatles, culled from several (unfortunately unlisted) sources, but this 39 track collection is excellent in sound quality, song selection, and really, just rarity. I'm sure this boot is "old hat" to serious Beatles traders out there, but for the casual (or younger) music fan out there, this is the best place I can imagine to start. I simply LOVE this setlist. There are even a few instrumental versions of great songs, as well as completely reworked versions too. If you have a passing interest in the Beatles, or are a lifelong fan but don't have access to deep rarities, then this boot is for you! Not to mention, how fresh and modern these tracks sound still today. Do yourself a favor. Download this set, and begin enjoying it immediately! Also, forgot to mention: there is even artwork and CD inlay graphics in the download too! Perfect Audio and Creativity Bliss. I am at work right now (as I have been all weekend) and this is just the perfect setlist to while away a working weekend.

Here's the Tracklisting:

1. Do You Want To Know A Secret?
2. And I Love Her
3. I'm A Loser
4. Help!
5. Yesterday
6. Yes It Is
7. Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)
8. I'm Looking Through You
9. We Can Work It Out
10. I'm Only Sleeping
11. Yellow Submarine
12. A Day In The Life
13. The Fool On The Hill
14. Christmas Time Is Here Again
15. The Happy Kishikesh Song
16. Jubilee
17. Child Of Nature
18. Goodbye
19. What's The New Mary Jane

1. Heather
2. Back In The USSR
3. Dear Prudence
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Blackbird
7. Rocky Raccoon
8. Julia
9. Mother's Nature Sun
10. Hey, Jude
11. Because
12. I Lost My Little Girl
13. Teddy Boy
14. Mama You've Been On My Mind
15. For You BLue
16. Two Of Us
17. Across The Universe
18. I Me Mine
19. Maggie Mae

here's the Zip!

Download: The Beatles: Acoustic Sumbarine (2 Discs, Zipped)

Enjoy!

Democrats can wear red white + blue too...

2008-10-04T17:46:00.006-04:00

Alicia and I went to see Lucinda Williams play at the Theater at Madison Square Garden last night, and boy was it a great show. By my count there were at least 3 new songs from her forthcoming new album, not to mention a huge back catalog of fantastic tracks, topped of with a smattering of great (and unexpected) covers. A recipe for fun if there ever was one.

The opening act, Buick 6, was a 4-some who played a FANTASTIC (and actually pretty experimental and exciting) set of instrumentals, ranging from rockabilly and blues to straight rock and some Wilco-esque alt country jamming. I was thrilled with their musicianship, and was dying to see more by the time they wrapped their last song (Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl," the only track that had vocals)... Boy was I thrilled when they came back out and were Lucinda's band! Ha!

Lucinda came out decked out in punk-style black (a surprise) and just jumped into a few songs, singing only. By about the third song in, she had donned her acoustic guitar and began to make some noise along with the band. She kept marveling at the excellent sound quality at the Theater space (I agree) and how big it was. She was all smiles, and very conversational and joking around.

For her encore, she and the band came back out, and broke into a Fats Domino song, then Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth." She lamented the need these days for a "protest song, and said this song was still (unfortunately) as true today as it was 30 years ago. She avoided getting too "high-horse preachy" (since it was pretty obvious that her crowd there that night did not particularly lean very "left" - Alicia and I being the youngest person in the crowd by a margin of, say, 50 years!) but said emphatically that "Democrats can wear Red, White and Blue TOO!" Ballsy. Funny. A bit Bawdy. And a completely honest and engaging performance. I can't wait to see her again!

Here are a few great tracks of hers, in no particular order. If you aren't familiar with her, run, do not walk, to get her back catalogue (especially "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road," one of my Desert Island Albums!) These are my 4 favorite songs from her, and strangely enough, she played none of them... oh well.. better luck next time! Ha!

Download: Lucinda Williams: Meal Firecracker

Download: Lucinda Williams: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten

Download: Lucinda Williams: Greenville

Download: Lucinda Williams: Passionate Kisses

Enjoy!

Thank God all MY money's in CDs!

2008-09-30T21:25:00.006-04:00

Sorry about the delay in posts around here. Busy times all around. The Missus and I went to Cancun for a week (more on THAT later!) so of course the work-week BEFORE was hell, and the work-week AFTER was double hell. It's really not even worth going away to "relax" if you just have to double or triple up your workload in order to do it. But of course while we were away (and returned) the whole world seemed to catch fire and spiral out of control. I'm no economic genius by any means... as a matter fact, I went to art school. So I have no advice or solutions or ideas as to what to do or what's right. All I know is that I just bought a 2 terabyte drive, and have been working on getting ALL my music onto it, so that I'd be able to comb through the collections better and more easily for this blog. I have no stocks (other than some retirement accounts) so it looks like the all-CD (and cassette, and album, and MP3) investment strategy is really paying off in these trying economic times.

A quick Sidenote/Question:
With all of the bank failures going on around here, why on freaking EARTH can't one of them be North Fork Bank (and or Capital One), my sworn and mortal enemy? (see previous posts for details). I swear to GOD the day that bank fails is the night that drinks for the entire bar are on ME!

I DID get a great email suggesting an alternative to use the billions and billions of dollars proposed for bailing out the financial institutions. I'll post it here, if for nothing else than a good laugh. Thanks to Phil Roc for sending it my way!

####################################

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a 'We Deserve It Dividend'.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a 'We Deserve It Dividend'..

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion

'We Deserve It Dividend' more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

####################################

And, just for fun, here are some tunes to get you though the meltdown. It's pretty Pearl Jam heavy, but filled with some fantastic covers and ultra-rare collaborations (Bono, Robert Plant!?!??! Need I say more?) But besides Pearl Jam, there are some other great ones in there, not to mention my new obessive-favorite-listen-to-it-over-and-over song by Easyworld! Drink Up. Drink another. Kick back and watch it all burn.

Download: Easyworld: U Make Me Want to Drink Bleach

Download: Bloc Party: Like Eating Glass

Download: Pearl Jam w/ Robert Plant: Money (That's What I Want)

Download: Pearl Jam w/Bono: Rocking In The Free World (N. Young) (+ Improv)

Download: Nine Inch Nails: All The Pigs, All Lined Up

Download: Pearl Jam w/ John Doe: The New World w/ Revolution (Beatles)

Download: Pearl Jam: The American In Me (Avengers)

Download: Pearl Jam: Grievance

Download: Nirvana: Pay To Play (early demo of "Stay Away")

Download: R.E.M: The End Of The World As We Know It (Live)

As always, Enjoy! (And F#CK Banks. Seriously)

* * * * * * * * * *

2008-09-12T11:51:00.017-04:00

I tried to write this yesterday, but it was a crazy day (with work and class) and time got away from me.

Funny how I just described yesterday as "crazy." How quickly my brain forgets just what a crazy day IS. A truly crazy day finds you running late for work, hearing a "boom" outside as you scramble to get dressed and get out the door for work. You think to yourself "Sounds like rain... better bring the umbrella."

Crazy thing is, when you get outside, it's a beautiful sunny day. Your neighbors are all in front of your building, staring straight up at a smoking tower. You ask what happened? Malfunction? Pilot had a heart attack? Small plane? Big one? Nobody knows. You can smell the jet fuel burning. You look up at it. Away towards your neighbors. Back up. Back to them. Out of the corner of your eye, another "boom."

A crazy thought crosses your mind. "How could there be TWO malfunctions, only minutes apart?"

You go back upstairs, call the office, and tell everyone to go home.

You turn on the TV. You expect to see the towers burning on the screen. INSTEAD you see a burning Pentagon.

The day had only just BEGUN to get crazy.

I've been back to the site (or passed it) every year since on September 11th, but for some reason this year I just couldn't make time. Because, you know, it's been 7 whole years and all. And besides, I'm a very busy guy. Nothing stops. But today I regret it. I'm embarrassed that I didn't get to, but I figured If I posted here at least I could make up for it. I pulled a few songs and I really should leave it at that. Those stupid bumper stickers that say "Never Forget"? Well, they're not wrong for reminding us.

I'll be back to cheerier stuff tomorrow. Enjoy the music for today!

Download: Pearl Jam: The Long Road

Download: Pearl Jam: Untitled

Download: Pearl Jam: I Am Mine

Download: Eddie Vedder: Goodbye

Download: Eddie Vedder: Satellite

P.S... A day later, talking with a friend, we came to the conclusion that it takes a lot more than international terrorism to take ME out. God knows, bigger men have tried. Good Luck with that, North Fork Bank.

P.P.S... Happy 33rd birthday to Marty. Could anyone POSSIBLY have a worse birthdate?!?!?! Here's to at least 1 more!

The Black Angels' Second Coming

2008-09-06T14:05:00.011-04:00

I have waited patiently to post The Black Angels here on this blog, and for you readers, my patience has paid off in dividends! Oh sure, i could have just rushed a post of one of my favorite bands, and probably put up a few standout tracks from their first, unbelievable album "Passover." (Don't worry, i'm still going to post a few!) But now, with their release of album number 2, "Directions to See a Ghost" I am so much more in awe of them, I have a new track or two to post as well. But love them so much that I do, not only do I have these tracks for you, but I had been holding out to see if I could get you guys anything more cool or rare... And the other day I hit a jackpot! A full live show bootleg of them from Sheffield, May 20th, 2008!

These guys sound like if The Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain had a 60s love-child who grew up and protested the religious right and the war machine. Like penut butter and chocolate, it's pretty much my ultimate combination of flavors!

Here we go, off their first album, Passover:

Download: The Black Angels: Young Men Dead

Download: The Black Angels: The First Vietnamese War

Download: The Black Angels: Bloodhounds On My Trail

And off their brand new, second album, Directions to See A Ghost:

Download: The Black Angels: You On The Run

And the prize of the day, an entire live show (in WAV format, so the file size is kind of big)

Download: The Black Angels: Live In Sheffield - May 20th, 2008

Enjoy!

Guest DJ #001

2008-09-05T11:38:00.004-04:00

Feedback has started to trickle in regarding some of the music postings on this here blog!! We created a few more obsessed fans for The National, a few others are going to check out Everclear and Cracker playing a free show in New Jersey this weekend, and the other day I just got my first submission of tracks I had not heard, suggesting that they might be blog-fodder!

Well, without further delay, let's start a new (hopefully recurring) episode of "User Submitted" tracks, this first one being from Bob L. in Baltimore.

First up, we have Neko Case, with her FINE cover of "Train From Kansas City" first done by the 60's girl group The Shangrala's. This song was just right up my alley... very hard to not sing along with. She combines punk's do it yourself ethic, a strong business sense, and frequently infuses humorous narratives into her live sets. She's touring this summer (mostly across the Southwest and West Coast) but if you have the chance, check her out!

Download: Neko Case: Train From Kansas City

Next up was a real surprise for me, with an artist I had not heard, which just blew me away, Sam Roberts. The track suggested (and posted) is the second track from his latest CD "We Were Born In A Flame" called "Where Have All The Good People Gone?"... once I listened to it (and really liked it) I poked around some more and found another track which I loved as well, called 'Hard Road." Check them out, I'm sure you'll enjoy them!

Download: Sam Roberts: Where Have All The Good People Gone?

Download: Sam Roberts: Hard Road

Just for fun, I am adding to this playlist, my favorite Jack Johnson song (look for many future posts with HIM featured) called "Where'd All The Good People Go?" since the titles are so similar, I thought it would be a fun counterpoint to Sam. Working in broadcast television, this song could simply not be any truer. If you hate the evil, corporate, base, crass divisive and obscene direction the media has taken over the last decade, then you will LOVE this song!

Download: Jack Johnson: Good People

And to finish it up in a fun way, our guest blogger (enjoying my last x-files related posting with Bree Sharp) suggested I post another great one by her, a fantastic cover of "The Boys of Summer." Really really fun.

Download: Bree Sharp: The Boys of Summer

There you have it, our first guest DJ! (With a bit of editorial on my end! Ha!) Thanks again for the submission, please send me more! If there's something YOU'VE been listening to and loving, and think the rest of us should hear it, shoot me an email or leave me a comment in the blog, and I would be thrilled to post it! After all, community interaction is really the entire point of these blogs, no?

As Always, Enjoy!